A room of her own

Bosc d’Anjou posted a photo:

Tove Jansson (1914-2001) – Self-Portrait (1942). In the collection of the Ateneum Art Museum, Finnish National Gallery, Helsinki.

The curators comment: “Tove Jansson is one of the most famous Finnish artists internationally. She painted this self-portrait in 1942 after finding a flat for herself. The flat also served as her studio, which is represented by the artists smock, thrown over the easel at left.

The painting tells us how important it is for an artist to have a space of her own. In addition to serving as a workspace, it may also offer space for emotions and identity to develop. Tove Jansson was a passionate artist and was independent and self-reliant from a young age, even travelling alone around the art centres of Europe. Jansson’s lifestyle differed from the social norm of the day in other ways as well: she had relationships with women as well as men. Homosexual relations were not decriminalised in Finland until 1971.”