Almost all of us have had at least one copy of the GOOD NEWS BIBLE (GNB). This English Bible was first published in 1966, as a New Testament-only version. Later in 1976, the Old Testament too was published. Further, this Bible went through two major developments in 1976. The British and Foreign Bible Society anglicized the earlier American edition with the use of metric measurements and the work of the Old Testament was completed and the full Bible was published as the Good News Bible (GNB).
I got my first GNB when the Catholic Head Master of my school gave me a copy. The year was 1978. From the first day itself, there was something that connected me to this Bible edition. They were the line drawings in them. Probably, this is the only Bible ever produced in the 2000-year Jeudo-Christian history, accurately conveying the Bible story and the salvation message through illustrations using line drawings. The accuracy of these line drawings is phenomenal.
I was curious to know who the creator of these drawings was. The preface to the 1978 edition has the information that “ these illustrations were specially prepared for this edition of the whole Bible by the Swiss artist Ms. Annie Vallotton”. It is noted that this information is absent in the GNB printed in the further years in India.
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The mention of Ms. Annie Vallotton in the 1978 edition.
In the further editions, we cannot read this information. |
Ms. Annie Vallotton was a committed, believing, and church-going Christian born in Switzerland. She was deeply involved with drawing Christian themes even at a young age. As a lifelong Christian, she set out to do illustrations wherever she could to spread the Good News of Salvation. She was associated with Scripture Union and illustrated many of their small publications and giveaways. She was also active in illustrating many Christian books for African missionary organizations.
Ms. Vallotton set out to create the story of Jesus with her pioneering line drawings as her first major work. Titled ‘Priority’, she drew 60 illustrations completely telling the story of Jesus. The publisher was not able to sell any of this book and had to dump the whole 3000 copies into a river in northern France. But God Almighty had a bigger plan and had a larger readership ready for Ms. Marie Vallotton. She was not disappointed but continued to journey, illustrating Christian themes. Soon, her work became noticeable across the Atlantic. American Evangelical Christians began to know about her gifted ability for line drawings. It was Eugene Nida, the linguist who associated with the American Bible Society who wanted to utilize Annie Vllotton’s gift of line drawing. He wanted her to work on illustrations in telling the Bible story in the most simple manner, in the upcoming GNB edition of the Holy Bible. It is said that on a chilling frosty day when Nida met Annie at Stuttgart Airport, it took only 10 minutes for this man of God and a woman of God to decide upon the commencement of a big illustration project: to illustrate the whole of GOOD NEW BIBLE. What followed was the creation of more than 500 lively illustrations of the Bible characters and the story by her. She later, in a 2008 interview said, “I did some of the drawings 80-90 times before I achieved the one I wanted. I wanted to get to the truth… the most important thing.” Even the art critics agree that her work in the GNB was the most evocative, suggestive, funny, moving, and subtle delineations of the Bible text of any, created so far. She was often told by Christians that her drawings have been a means of grace and windows into the sacred text of God. Even the Conservative Christians commented that her pictures never distracted from the sacred text, and her pictures never tried to interpret the story. The cornerstone of her success was to remain childlike in her work and see and read child-like the Word of God.
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Angels inform shepherds of the birth of Christ.
(courtesy Annie Vallotton/ The Good News Bible)
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When the work of illustrating the Bible was done and when the GNB was published, Vallotton’s simple drawings had a profound interest in how stories could be illustrated accurately using simple lines. Each of her drawings showed what the stories stood for, and all the emotions and liveliness of the dynamic Bible were embedded in them.
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The picture of Ms Vallotton on tour in the US, 1966.
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Let’s take the book of Malachi… 4:2 tells us "MY SAVING POWER WILL RISE ON YOU LIKE THE SUN"….and look at how Annie has sketched it! The joy of that person when God’s saving power strikes him. The message is so vibrant in her simple strokes of pen on paper.
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"My saving power will rise on you like the sun"
(courtesy Annie Vallotton/ The Good News Bible)
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Let’s take Genesis 4:6… the illustration shows Cain and Abel. Cain was a farmer and Abel a shepherd. Look at the physical body build of the farmer … he has a significant masculine body ( like today's farmers), whereas a shepherd was lean. The farmer was half-dressed, whereas the shepherd wore a full gown. And look at the facial expression. With little strokes of the pen, the artist could make Cain’s face bad enough for God to intervene…“ Why that scowl on your face?” God asked.
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“ Why that scowl on your face?” God asked.
(courtesy Annie Vallotton/ The Good News Bible) |
Ms. Vallotton's use of shadows is another big contribution to the line-drawing technique. She was conservative in the use of shadows. But wherever she used, it, it served the purpose. Look at Isaiah 5:22 … Heroes of the wine bottles…..Though simple, it gave all the dynamism a figure wanted. Look at Philippians 3:14… I run straight towards the goal.
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"Heroes of the wine bottles..."
(courtesy Annie Vallotton/ The Good News Bible)
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"I run straight towards the goal"
(courtesy Annie Vallotton/ The Good News Bible)
By 1969, GNB distributed 17.5 million Bible copies, and by 1970, 30 million. Today, more than 225 million copies have been distributed since its release in 1966, and each of those Bibles carries the simple and beautiful illustrations made by Vllotton…. 225 million Bible copies ( and still growing), each carrying 500 and more illustrations on almost every page of its! HarperCollins claims that Ms. Vallotton is the ‘Bestselling Artist of all time!’ and according to the press release of Harper Collins, Ms. Vallotton’s illustration sales are more than 70 billion-!!
Ms Vallotton, who could not sell even 100 copies of her first major work in ‘Priority’ ( and which was thrown off into a river by the publisher) was later used powerfully by God. Never in the history of the world has any art illustrator had this level of success in his/her career, in print media publications.
What a wonderful God, Vllotton believed in! When Vallotton was asked in an interview about her ‘Bestselling Artist of all time’ achievement, she laughed aloud and said, “Too many people read the Bible with a severe face! I say no, the Bible is not that! The Bible is life, and it is wonderful!”
 | Ms. Annie Marie Vallotton was called to rest by God on
December 28th, 2013, at the age of 98. |
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