Elsa Beskov

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Elsa Beskow, 1901

Elsa Beskow , née Elsa Maartman , (born February 11, 1874 in Stockholm , † June 30, 1953 in Djursholm ) was a Swedish children's author, painter and illustrator.

Life

Elsa Beskow was born as the daughter of the businessman Bernt Maartman (1841-1889) and the teacher Augusta Fahlstedt (1850-1915). She had five younger siblings. When the father had to file for bankruptcy and died shortly afterwards (1889), the mother and her children moved into the household of her sisters. They ran a pre-school in the spirit of reform pedagogy . The aunts later became portrait for Elsa Beskows book Aunt Brown, Aunt Green and Aunt Purple .

Elsa Beskow studied drawing at Konstfack in Stockholm from 1890 to 1895 , where she met Natanael Beskow , whom she married in 1897. The couple had six sons, including the artist and author Bo Beskow .

From 1894 Elsa Beskow published in the children's magazine “Jultomten”, which at that time had a very high circulation and contributed significantly to the beginning of the awareness of Elsa Beskow's work. In 1897 she published her first book Sagan om den lilla, lilla gumman / The fairy tale of the little, little woman ; more than 30 books were to follow, translated into numerous languages.

plant

Elsa Beskows style was linked to the works of Hans Christian Andersen and Zacharias Topelius . She has illustrated her numerous children's books herself. Therefore she is considered to be the first Swedish picture book author. All books are imaginative for children, but not very realistic. Many of them belong to the classic Swedish children's literature and will continue to be read. The names of some characters are known everywhere in Sweden and have been incorporated into the Swedish vocabulary as terms. Examples are: "Aunt Grön, Aunt Brun och Tant Gredelin" (Aunt Green, Aunt Brown and Aunt Purple).

Many books are written in poetry, and in some of them the children are asked to find the appropriate “ending rhyme” for the second line, such as: B. in "Hattstugan" (little hat). Such word games are of course difficult to transfer into another language. Other books are also known in Germany, e.g. B. "Puttes äventyr i blåbärsskogen" (Little Little Boy in the Blueberry Forest) which was published in 1903 in a German translation. In many books there are little elves or elf children and other mythical creatures.

Awards

Catalog raisonné

  • from 1894 various articles for the children's magazine "Jultomten"
  • Sagan om den lilla, lilla gumman / The fairy tale of the little, little woman. (1897)
  • Barnen på Solbacka. (1898)
  • Puttes äventyr i blåbärsskogen / Hänschen in the blueberry forest. (1901)
  • Mors lilla Olle. (1903), illustrations, text by Alice Tegnér
  • Blommornas bok. (1905), illustrations, text by Jeanna Oterdahls
  • Gnällmåns. (1905)
  • Olles skidfärd / Olles journey to King Winter. (1907)
  • Tummelisa / Thumbelina . (1908), illustrations, text by Hans Christian Andersen
  • Blond in flowers. (1908), illustrations, text by Georg Lang
  • Tomtebobarnen / The Wichtelkinder. (1910)
  • Pelles nya kläder / Pelles new clothes. (1912)
  • Blomsterfesten i tappan / flower festival. (1914)
  • Görans bok. (1916)
  • Aunt Grön, Aunt Brun and Aunt Gredelin / Aunt Brown, Aunt Green and Aunt Purple. (1918)
  • Muntergök / jester. (1919)
  • Lasse-Liten i trädgården / Klein-Lasse in the garden. (1920)
  • Lillebrors sailing fair. (1921)
  • Bubbelemuck. (1921)
  • Borgmästar Munte. (1922), illustrations, text by Alice Tegnér
  • Sagan om den lilla hinden / The fairy tale of the little deer. (1924)
  • Aunt Bruns födelsedag. (1925)
  • Årets saga. (1927)
  • Petter and Lotta på aventyr. (1929)
  • Hattstugan. (1930)
  • Solägget / The sun egg. (1932)
  • Lands Långthärifrån. (1932)
  • Sagan om den nyfikna abborren / The curious little fish. (1933)
  • Sessalätts aventyr / Lissy's adventure. (1934)
  • Ocke, Nutta och Pillerill / joke in the Wichtelwald. (1939)
  • Duktiga Annika / Annika. (1941)
  • Farbror Blås nya båt / Uncle Blau's new boat. (1942)
  • ABC-resan. (1945)
  • Petters och Lottas Jul / Christmas with Peter and Lotta. (1947)
  • Mr. Peter. (1949)

literature

  • Edvard von Krusenstjerna: Natanael och Elsa Beskow, study och minnesbilder. Norstedts, Stockholm 1965
  • Gunvor Håkansson: Elsa Beskow and Astrid Lindgren. 1967
  • Margareta Sjogren: Elsa Beskow och hennes värld. BonnierFakta, Stockholm 1983
  • Stina Hammar: S olägget: Fantasi och verkligheit i Elsa Beskows const. Albert Bonniers, Stockholm 2002

Web links

Commons : Elsa Beskow  - collection of images
personal data
SURNAME Beskow, Elsa
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Maartman, Elsa (maiden name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Swedish children's author, painter and illustrator
DATE OF BIRTH February 11, 1874
PLACE OF BIRTH Stockholm
DATE OF DEATH June 30, 1953
Place of death Djursholm