Collection: Eelke Jelles Eelkema

Eelke Jelles Eelkema (1788–1839) was a Dutch painter of landscapes, flowers, and fruit. Born in Leeuwarden, he became deaf at age seven due to illness. He received his education at the first Dutch institution for the deaf and dumb in Groningen, established in 1799. Gerardus de San, the first director of the Academie Minerva, provided Eelkema with instruction in drawing, where he earned the first prize in 1804.

Eelkema's artistic practice included painting flowers directly from nurseries, such as those at Mattheus van Eeden's "Flora" in Haarlem in 1819, which he later composed into bouquets on canvas. He traveled extensively, making sketches during journeys through France, Switzerland, and Italy. His work encompassed still lifes of flowers and fruit, alongside landscapes. He held an exhibition of his work in Amsterdam in 1820.

Eelkema taught at the Atheneum in Franeker, communicating with students using a slate. In 1830, he translated a theoretical work by the miniaturist André Léon Larue Mansion from French. He continued to paint until he lost his sight, dying in his hometown of Leeuwarden.