Figure 1.--This is Annika getting dressed in the morning and helping with breakfast. The charming innocent drawings are characteristic of Elsa Beskow. These drawings are from "Annika" (German title) and "Duktiga Annika" (Swedish title). |
|
The best known Swedish illustrator and authoress of children's books is Elsa Beskow (1874-1955). Beskow not only wrote the stories, but illustrated them all herself. Beskow also illustrated some of Alice Tegnér's books. Beskow and Tengler along with John Baur played a major role in creating specialized children's books in Sweden. Beskow's is especially remembered by many Sweedes because her book Vill du Lasa? which appeared in 1935 was was used as a beginning reader in primary scgools. Her work has been appreciated by children in other countries, especially Germany. A German reader has mentiond Beskow to us because her children's picture books were so widely sold in Germany. A very well-known title of hers was "Hän schen im Blaubeerwald" ("Little Hans in the Blue Berry Forest"). The original Swedish title was "Puttes Äventyr i Blå-Bärs-Skogen". Beskow not only wrote the stories, but illustrated them all herself.
Elsa's father was Bernt Maartman (1841–1889), a businessman. His family came from Bergen, Norway. At the time Norway was part of Sweden. Elsa's mother was Augusta (Fahlstedt) Maartman (1850–1915) who was a teacher.
Elsa Beskow was born in Stockholm during 1874, the first child of the Martman family. The next year her father's business failed. The family moved to more modest quaters in the Old Town of Stockholm and subsequently to Östermalm. Despite the strauned circustances, Elsa by all accounts had a happy childhood. As a very young girl Elsa found pleasure in drawing and decided she wanted to be an artist. Her grandmother, Johanna Wilhelmina, was a very important influence. She stimulated Elsa's imagination with wonderful fairy tales. Elsa was also an avid reader. Her favorite author was was Zacharias Topelius. Her grandmother died (1887?). Elsa was only 13 years old. She felt the loss deeply, decribing the loss of her grandmother as the end of her "happy childhood". Only 2 years later, her father died (1889). Her mother opened a shop, but it did not prove successful. Money thus became a real problem.
We have few details about Elsa's early childhood. Elsa and her sister Malin with who she was very close, entered the studied Art Education at Konstfack, University College of Arts, Crafts and Design in Sttockhom (1890). It was known as Tekniska skolan (Technical school). Malin had to leave school after she contracted cancer. She later died (1890). Along with the loss of her grandmothr and father, the loss of Malin affected her deeply. After graduation, Elsa hoped to continue her art studies at Art Academy. This was not possible, however, because of the family's strained finncial circumstances.
Elsa decided to teach. She taught art at Whitlockska School (1894-97). I'm not sure what kind of school this was or if she enjoyed teaching.
We have seen different accounts of the Beskow marriage and are still trying to piece them together.
Elsa met Natanael Beskow while she was still a student (1892). Natanael gave up his art studies and his initial goal of becoming a painter. He decided to persue theology and become a teacher. He was a struggling art student ar the time. Another account is that they met at the Viktor Rydbergs Samskola (Djursholms Samskola) while serving as a teacher where he served as head master. He became a social worker and doctor of theology. They married former minister and Natanael Beskow (1897). They moved to Villa Ekeliden in Djursholm (1901). Their new home was initially been built for the author Viktor Rydberg. They Beskows had six sons, including the artist Bo Beskow (1906–1989) and geologist Gunnar Beskow (1901–1991). Their son Dag died (1922).
Beskow wrote and illustrated quite a number of books. Beskow began her literary career while teaching children. She began contributing material to the Swedish children's magazine Jultomten. At the time there was very few books for children in Swedish. Beskow in fact helped to found Swedish children's literature along with Alice Tegnér and John Baur. Beskow's first actual book was SAGAN OM DET LILLA, LILLA GUMMAN (1897). The principal character was a not very well behaved kitty. It drinks the milk of an eldely lady. The mischevious cat was in part inspired by the drawings of Walter Crane. She had rather progressive social atttudes. She promoted the Jugend style. She was also a string believer in "art for people!" After the turn of the century she wrote PUTTES ÄFVENTYR I BLÅBÄRSSKOGEN (1901). A German reader remembers being inchanted with the German version, "Hänschen im Blaubeerwald" ("Little Hans in the Blue Berry Forest"). This work was an enormous success and brought her to the attention of the larger public. She excelled in fairy tales, drawing from her own childhood and the wonderful stories her grandmother told her. And as a mother, she drew from her own children.
Children played a central role in her fairy tales. She often addressed the interactions between children and adults. Beskow's picture books include humanized flora, dwarfs, children, etc.She often told her stories with a fascinating population of fairies, elves, witches and goblins which appealed to the children. In her books these make believe characters interact with people and animals. In one poem she even did a poem about vegetable characters. The setting was the woodlands and towns of her native Sweden. Her perceptive depictions of small town life is a wonderful social record. She wrote the text in both verse and prose.
She wrote a very special fairly tale, "Jon Blunds paraply" about the loss of Dag, although it was not published until several years later in the anthology DET HÄNDE EN GÅNG. She travekled to Palestine, hoping to catch a glipse of paradice whereshe was sure Dag was located (1924). A few years later, she and a close friend Signe von Kochin traveled around the the Mediterranean (early 1930s). The sun and orange trees were a great change from Sweden and can be found in SOLÄGGET (1932). She fell into a deep depression, but after recovering published VILL DU LÄSA? (1935). She drew a more modern version of Lisa who she had first created in her fairy tale "Lisas framtidsplaner" (1907). Her many readers have their own favorites. Some of the best remembered works were TOMTEBOBARNEN (1910), TANT GRÖN, TANT BRUN OCH TANT GREDELIN (1918), and PETTER OCH LOTTA series (5 vols., 1918-47).
Beskow's books are wonderful for pre-readers and young children just beginning to read. They describe innocent, dreamlike adventures. "Little Hans in the Blue Berry Forest" describes how Hans goes into the forest to find blueberries for his mother's birthday gift. Then complications arise. The mouse-sized King of Blueberry Land arrives, taps Peter on his toe, shrinks him down to his size. The King then takes Hans on a magical adventure. They harness mice and sail on slips of bark with chirping crickets. The imaginative stories appeal to young readers and help to iunterest them in reading.
Beskow's books have been translated into many languages. She made a lot of picture-books. Picture books of course can be more easily marketed in other countries than books which require translation.Outside Sweden she is perhaps best known in Germany. More of her books, however, have been sold in Germany than Sweden because Germany has a much larger population than Sweden. They were also widely sold in other Scandinavian countries. She is not as well known in America as Europe.
Beskow enchanted two generations of Swedish children. Her popularity began to wain in the 1960s. Many readers by the 1970s began to see her as old fashioned in a increasingly sophisticated world. There was a desire for more "relevance" in children's works. Magic seemed out of fashion. Beskow was especially criticised for her very traditional gender roles. Her books with authoritarian adult figures were contrasted unfavorably with the more democratic family structure depicted by Astrid Lindgren.
Beskow is notable not only as a author, but also an important illustrator. She is perhaps Sweden's best known illustrator of children's books. She illustrated her own books and did some illustrations for other writers, especially those of Alice Tegnér. Beskow's illustrations are simple, but charming. The illustration in PUTTES ÄFVENTYR I BLÅBÄRSSKOGEN shows Little PUTTES/Hans wearing a smock with short pants and longstockings. I'm not sure to what extent Swedish boys actually wore smocks.
Here illustrations are strongly influenced by National Romanticism. This movement proved importat un Scandinavia beginning in the 1890s. Other illustrators/artists influenced by the movement included Carl Larsson. Her drawings are a kind, sensitive depiction of the wonderful characters in her books.
The Beskow stayed in Djursholm their entire married life. She died there (1953). Natanael passed away a few months later.
Navigate the Boys' Historical Clothing Artist pages:
[Return to the Main A-L illustrator page]
[Return to the Main individual illustrator page]
[Return to the Main Swedish illustrator page]
[Return to the Main Swedish author page]
[Chronology]
[Countries]
[Individuals]
[Styles]
Navigate the Boys' Historical Clothing Web Site:
[About Us]
[Introduction]
[Activities]
[Biographies]
[Chronology]
[Clothing styles]
[Countries]
[Literary]
[Bibliographies]
[Contributions]
[FAQs]
[Glossaries]
[Images]
[Links]
[Registration]
[Tools]
[Boys' Clothing Home]