Thursday, 1 June 2023

Another Scandinavian illustrator- Gote Goransson

 Thought I would post about this illustrator . I have two of his books, both in Swedish but worth buying for the illustrations alone in my opinion. One is well known to wargamers of the Great Notthern War whilst the other is less well known in the uk . Now for some background -

https://www.lambiek.net/artists/g/goransson_gote.htm#:~:text=G%C3%B6te%20G%C3%B6ransson%20is%20a%20Swedish,och%20Stockholms%2DTidningen%20in%201939.

https://sv.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/G%C3%B6te_G%C3%B6ransson

I like the variety of his work in these books , from line drawings to full double page spreads and everything in between. For me they bring the past alive ,much as Embleton did with his colourful illustrations of Hadrian’s Wall and the Roman Army. Anyway here are some of my favourite illustrations-













8 comments:

  1. Interesting narrative work, especially the description of the grenade throwing. I could imagine many military modellers recreating these scenes. Interestingly he was in his early career another strip cartoonist like Stig Bramsen or the Funckens.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Interesting that this seems a place that illustrators begin their careers in some cases. Gote’s work in the book is full of inventive presentations like the grenade thrower . That combined with the dramatic full page spreads are part of the reason l so like his work. The Scandinavian world knows him far more than us here in the uk.
      Alan Tradgardland

      Delete
  2. Replies
    1. Very much so, worth tracking down.
      Alan Tradgardland

      Delete
  3. The winter picture is from the Swedish retreat after giving up trying to take Trondheim. About 300 Swedes died during the retreat.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Quite a story indeed!
      Alan Tradgardland

      Delete
  4. A lovely keepsake you've got there. I need to hunt up some of the classic uniform volumes Mark has been going on about; because my Dad was an engineer we only had books about airplanes in my house growing up. So I knew tanks, ships and planes back and forth, but not ordinary fighting men...

    ReplyDelete
  5. Look out for the Blandford books and also Almark.
    They are classics.
    Alan Tradgardland

    ReplyDelete