Artist
Biography
Yrrah (pseudonym consisting of his mirrored first name), born as Harry Lammertink (Apeldoorn, November 7, 1932 - Amsterdam, March 2, 1996) was a Dutch cartoonist.
Harry Lammertink grew up in Apeldoorn. He moved to Amsterdam in 1951. He started working as a graphic draftsman and soon developed into a cartoonist after an American example. In the early days he worked for Het Parool.
Yrrah usually drew on the dark side of people. Illness, death and decay were central themes. Perhaps this was a consequence of the poor health he had to contend with since childhood.
Grave of Cartoonist Harry Lammertink on Zorgvlied
Yrrah had a production of sometimes more than fifty drawings a month but was often afraid that one day he would no longer have any new ideas. His drawings are characterized by a sharp pointe and a low point of view. He said to draw inspiration from his frustrations and to draw like from a foxhole. Yrrah has published in Het Parool, Vrij Nederland, KRO Studio, Humo, Rijam school diary, Stern, Esquire, among others.
Yrrah got his last resting place at the Amsterdam cemetery Zorgvlied. He left over 7,000 drawings. In 2002 there was an exhibition of Yrrah's work in the Kunsthal Rotterdam. That same year, under the title "Black Blood", which can be seen as a synonym of melancholy, an overview of his work and life was published by De Harmonie.