Viktor Jansson
Encyclopedia
Viktor Bernhard "Faffan" Jansson (1886 in Helsinki
- 1958 in Helsinki) was a Finnish
sculptor belonging to the Swedish-speaking minority of Finland. He married the illustrator Signe Hammarsten-Jansson
and they had three children: the writer Tove Jansson
, photographer Per Olov Jansson
, and Lars Jansson, an author and comic strip artist.
Starting from 1929 Viktor Jansson created several drafts for sculptures picturing young women, one of which is called Convolvulus. The other sculpture from the same series named Youth (Nuoruus) is situated in Hämeenlinna
. These two sculptures are united by attempt to create images of excellence and clarity through a somehow abstract form.
The model for Convolvulus and Nuoruus was Tove Jansson
, the daughter of the sculptor.
Helsinki
Helsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is...
- 1958 in Helsinki) was a Finnish
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
sculptor belonging to the Swedish-speaking minority of Finland. He married the illustrator Signe Hammarsten-Jansson
Signe Hammarsten-Jansson
Signe "Ham" Hammarsten-Jansson was a Swedish graphic artist who designed, among other things, around 220 Finnish postage stamps during the course of three decades...
and they had three children: the writer Tove Jansson
Tove Jansson
Tove Marika Jansson was a Swedish-Finnish novelist, painter, illustrator and comic strip author. She is best known as the author of the Moomin books.- Biography :...
, photographer Per Olov Jansson
Per Olov Jansson
Per Olov Jansson is a Finnish photographer. He is the son of artists Viktor Jansson and Signe Hammarsten-Jansson, and the brother of writer Tove Jansson and cartoonist Lars Jansson...
, and Lars Jansson, an author and comic strip artist.
Starting from 1929 Viktor Jansson created several drafts for sculptures picturing young women, one of which is called Convolvulus. The other sculpture from the same series named Youth (Nuoruus) is situated in Hämeenlinna
Hämeenlinna
Hämeenlinna is a city and municipality of about inhabitants in the heart of the historical province of Häme in the south of Finland and is the birthplace of composer Jean Sibelius. Today, it belongs to the region of Tavastia Proper, and until 2010 it was the residence city for the Governor of the...
. These two sculptures are united by attempt to create images of excellence and clarity through a somehow abstract form.
Works
- Lahden vapaudenpatsas (the statue of liberty of LahtiLahtiLahti is a city and municipality in Finland.Lahti is the capital of the Päijänne Tavastia region. It is situated on a bay at the southern end of lake Vesijärvi about north-east of the capital Helsinki...
), 1920 - Tampereen vapaudenpatsas (the statue of liberty of TampereTampereTampere is a city in southern Finland. It is the most populous inland city in any of the Nordic countries. The city has a population of , growing to approximately 300,000 people in the conurbation and over 340,000 in the metropolitan area. Tampere is the third most-populous municipality in...
), 1920 - Convolvulus, 1931 (situated in HelsinkiHelsinkiHelsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is...
, Kaisaniemi parkKaisaniemiKaisaniemi is a part of the centre of Helsinki, Finland. It is located immediately north of the Helsinki Central railway station and south of Hakaniemi. The most famous part of Kaisaniemi is the Kaisaniemi park, a park covering many hectares right in the city centre...
), which depicts a young woman. Convolvulus stands for lesser bindweedConvolvulus arvensisConvolvulus arvensis is a species of bindweed, native to Europe and Asia. It is a climbing or creeping herbaceous perennial plant growing to 0.5–2 m high. The leaves are spirally arranged, linear to arrowhead-shaped, 2–5 cm long and alternate, with a 1–3 cm petiole...
or field bindweed. In this masterpiece the woman raises her hand in a half-protecting, half-blessing gesture. This sculpture is often said to symbolize spring's arrival to the north. The sculpture was born as a result of a competition organised by Helsinki City in 1930-31 to decorate Helsinki with public works of art. It is made out of bronzeBronzeBronze is a metal alloy consisting primarily of copper, usually with tin as the main additive. It is hard and brittle, and it was particularly significant in antiquity, so much so that the Bronze Age was named after the metal...
and is 240 cm high. Another version of Convolvulus is 120 cm high and stands on the grave of Bertel Hintze in the old part of Hietaniemi cemetery. - Nuoruus (Youth), 1931 (situated in HämeenlinnaHämeenlinnaHämeenlinna is a city and municipality of about inhabitants in the heart of the historical province of Häme in the south of Finland and is the birthplace of composer Jean Sibelius. Today, it belongs to the region of Tavastia Proper, and until 2010 it was the residence city for the Governor of the...
center in Kirjaston puisto) is of bronze, measuring 177 x 50 x 47,5 cm, on a base of grey graniteGraniteGranite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
71 x 50,5 x 58,5 cm
The model for Convolvulus and Nuoruus was Tove Jansson
Tove Jansson
Tove Marika Jansson was a Swedish-Finnish novelist, painter, illustrator and comic strip author. She is best known as the author of the Moomin books.- Biography :...
, the daughter of the sculptor.