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  • Marit TörnqvistIllustrator – Netherlands
  • Björn Sundmark

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I am continuously searching for archetypes of the things I imagine. For example, when I’m painting an apartment building, I try to shape it in such a way that it could be an apartment building of all times, it has to have a timeless appearance.

M. Törnqvist

marit törnqvist’s illustrations seem an anachronism in an age in which everything has to be hip, shiny, and streamlined, although such a presumption would be rather untrue; her work would be an anachronism in every age because Törnqvist creates images that relate to neither past nor present. This does not mean that her illustrations are distant or impersonal; the majority of Törnqvist’s work breathes a warm and comforting atmosphere. Her illustrations offer just the kind of protection she was yearning for as a student. It was not until her life became less hectic and she had settled with her family in both Amsterdam and in Småland, having her second house in the area in which she had grown up, that she dared to allow more grimness into her illustrations. This more grim side of her work is equally illustrative of her oeuvre as the Arcadian feeling of happiness in Jij bent de liefste, although its full potential was not reached until publisher Querido teamed Törnqvist with Toon Tellegen and his ominous telling of Pikkuhenki. The unpredictable and frugal illustrations, the majority of them being very subdued although some of them containing surprisingly happy colors, earned her the Gouden Penceel (Golden Pencil) in the Netherlands. Playfulness, humor, adventure, and nostalgia—these are all keywords that closely relate to Törnqvist’s oeuvre. However, nothing is more important in Törnqvist’s approach than the child itself.

A child reaching for the clouds with a fishing rod, standing on the Westertoren; blossoming cherry trees in a landscape from the south of Sweden; a toddler, cozily resting on an old-fashioned settee; hollow-eyed prisoners standing in their striped tunics; a disorderly crowd, moving through the city with haste—these are just some typical examples of illustrations by Marit Törnqvist (1964): writer, illustrator, and designer of a wayward oeuvre, with a personal background consisting of a fair amount of opposites. Born in Sweden and raised in The Netherlands, her oeuvre is characterized by a geographical dichotomy: There is the part that consists of Swedish books, with illustrations of farmsteads made of redwood, glazed tiled stoves, and dark ancient forests. Street scenes from Stockholm during past times, with old-fashioned street lights, moss-covered roofing tiles, and rattling little old trams also illustrate the Swedish side of Törnqvist’s works. These views form a clear contrast with the illustrations of her Dutch picture books, which are characterized by the view from Törnqvist’s home and atelier in Amsterdam.

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY

In Schemerland [Eveningland]. By Astrid Lindgren. Amsterdam: Querido, 2007. Print.
Helden op sokken [Heroes on socks]. By Annie Makkink. Amsterdam: Querido, 1998. Print.
De rode vogel [The Red Bird]. By Astrid Lindgren. Amsterdam: Hogland & Van Klaveren, 2003. Print.
Pikkuhenki [Little Spirit]. By Toon Tellegen. Amsterdam: Querido, 2005. Print.
Bellen blazen in Burundi [Blowing Bubbles in Burundi]. Amsterdam: Querido, 2007. Print. [End Page 42]
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