Nicolas Eekman

Nicolas Mathieu Eekman (9 August 1889 – 13 November 1973), known as Nico Eekman, Nic Eekman and Ekma, was a Flemish figurative painter.

He illustrated many books, notably The Destinies by Alfred de Vigny (1933), Beer‐Drinker's Tales by Charles Deulin (1945), Tyl Ulenspiegel by Charles de Coster (1946) and Culotte the Donkey by Henri Bosco (1950). He is also notable for his drawings, watercolours and engravings.

Biography

Eekman was born in Brussels in the house where Victor Hugo wrote Les Misérables.

At 18, Eekman gave his first lecture in Brussels titled The unknown Van Gogh who in 1907 was an unacknowledged artist by the general public. In 1912, he went to see the first Van Gogh exhibition in Cologne, Germany.

After graduating as an architect from the Fine Arts Academy in Brussels, he took refuge during the First World War in the presbytery of Nuenen, where Bart de Ligt was a pastor. Thirty years earlier, the Van Gogh family lived in the same presbytery, where Vincent created The Potato Eaters. Up until the end the war, Eekman exhibited his work frequently in Dutch museums and collectors purchased some of his artwork, primarily Helene Kröller-Müller.