Mästare med mullig modell eller försörjare med funktionshinder. Bilden av konstnären i bibliotekens konstlitteratur för barn.
This masters thesis is a gender study of the role of the artist in childrens literature of art. The study comprises forty-three childrens books presenting the life of a historic, contemporary or fictional artist. The books are published from the 1960s to the present day. They are written or translated into Swedish and available in Swedish libraries. The representation of the artist is examined separately in the text and in the illustrations. The text analysis is carried out with the elaborated gender questions of Lissa Paul. The analysis of the illustrations is carried out by semiotics and a model by Gustaf Cavallius. In the literature I find that the gendering of the artist remains biased through the years. A white western male artist predominates greatly. The story of a talented, but misunderstood and poor, young boy ends in a successful and world-famous artistry. When a female artist is portrayed she is either an illustrator of childrens books and a breadwinner, with artistry as a source of income, or disabled, with artistry as compensation for another profession. I also pay attention to gender representations in general. Men represent a greater variety and have a closer connection to society in comparison with the representation of women. In spite of the fact that there is a decrease in childrens reading of books in favour of other media, I recommend an increase in publishing childrens books including greater gender equality.