Tomtebobarnen, färgplansch till 3:e uppslaget

The Picture Book tradition is very strong in Sweden. Many of todays books, with their expressive pictorial language, are looked upon as an art-genre in line with poetry and music. Elsa Beskow (1874-1953) was one of its pioneers and her first book The Tale of the little, little, old woman from 1897 was very radical for its time. Over the last 30 years, Nationalmuseum has made a point of presenting artists from that rich tradition like; Ottilia Adelborg, Jenny Nyström, John Bauer and Ivar Arosenius.

For a large number of Swedes, the first words they read came from Do You Want to Read? A schoolbook by Elsa Beskow and Herman Siegvald. Its texts and pictures created a collective childhood memory for generations of Swedish schoolchildren. Elsa Beskow was a member of the National Romantic movement at the turn of the 20th century. Much of what is todaythought of as “typically Swedish” was formed during that period. Her images, especially of the forest, has had a great impact on many Swede’s conception of nature. She portrays nature from the childs perspective, the forest with its rich vegetation towers in front of the viewer.