Farewell to a Motoonist

Erik Abild Sørensen, one of the Original Twelve, has died of old age.

His contribution to the famous Motoons in Jyllands-Posten is shown at right. The inscription on the cartoon reads:

Profet! Med kuk og knald i låget
Som holder kvinder under åget!

Here's what our Danish correspondent TB says about it:

Here is the literal translation:

‘Kuk’ is the call of the cuckoo. (Here in the meaning of something like Jack Nicholson in ‘One flew over the cuckoo’s nest!’)

Prophet! With cuckoo (meaning the sound of this bird) and cracked in the lid (referring to his head)
Who keeps women under the yoke (referring to some forced and exhausting duty or task)

This is (my best shot):

Prophet! Cuckoo and cracked in the lid
Who keeps women under the yoke.

And this is Flemming Rose’s obituary for Mr. Sorensen at Pajamas Media:

Erik Abild Sørensen, one of the 12 cartoonists that back in 2005 contributed to Jyllands-Postens cartoons of the prophet Muhammed has died at the age of 89.

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Mr. Sørensen worked for Jyllands-Posten from 1938 until 1985. He was educated at an private art school and became a staff cartoonist at Jyllands-Posten in 1956. The Muhammed cartoon was the last published work in a career that spanned half a century. It was published under the caption: “Prophet! Daft and dumb. Keeping women under thumb.”

As a consequence of the death threats against the cartoonists Danish police showed up at Mr. Sørensen’s apartment in Aarhus offering security instructions. Sørensen replied:

“I have passed the age of 85, I am sick and I have just lost my wife. Can it get worse? I don’t think so.”

His quote is both amusing and sad. Such are the ravages of old age: loss after loss after loss until finally, one exits stage left and the play is over.

None of the sources I looked at gave the cause of death for Mr. Sorensen, but it certainly wasn’t a jihad attack.