Finnish art - Henrik Tikkanen 1 - Cityscapes

Henrik Tikkanen (1924-1984) was a cartoonist turned illustrator turned novelist. As a young man after the war he set out to become a cartoonist, but found his niche as a newspaper illustrator. He did his life's work drawing for the biggest Swedish and Finnish newspapers in Finland. He is especially known for his pen and ink line drawings of the changing urban environment of Helsinki, and the disappearing old building traditions of the countryside. What strikes me most about his work is his ability to depict incredibly detailed complex scenes, especially urban landscapes, with apparent simplicity and ease. His line is very relaxed, freewheeling and vibrant, yet captures the essence of modern cityscapes with it's precise lines and geometric shapes very accurately. A very unlikely, if not impossible combination, but he made it work! And by doing so, became the leading, and much copied Finnish illustrator of his generation.