Nico Bulder’s illustrations in Eekhout’s Kalevala
The famous Dutch painter and graphic artist Nico Bulder (1898–1964) made the illustrations in Jan H. Eekhout’s adaptation of the Kalevala, which was published in 1939 in Nijkerk. Jouko Tolvanen analyses the illustration as follows.
“The technique used by the artist, which avoids intermediate shades, is rich and dominated by dark colours and works very well when describing dramatic occurrences. He has done this very successfully. He has managed to transfer something from the Kalevala’s magical primeval forces and tragic sentiments into his pictures, although the pictures often also contain something strange, un-Finnish, but instead some traits that refer to German heroic stories.
Nico Bulder illustrated the translation by Jan Eekhout. In this picture the vengeful Joukahainen is about to shoot Väinämöinen’s horse.
Tolvanen thinks that the object for the illustration was not totally unknown to the artist and that the influence of the Kalevala art by, for example, Akseli Gallen-Kallela can be seen in the composition and details of the picture that illustrates Joukahainen’s revenge.
Jouko Tolvanen: “Uusia ulkomaisia Kalevalan kuvituksia” – Kalevalaseuran vuosikirja 23–24. Helsinki: WSOY. 1943–1944.