Dick Bruna
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dick Bruna (b. August 23, 1927, Utrecht, the Netherlands) is a writer, artist and graphic designer.
His best known creation then is Miffy, a little rabbit drawn in as few lines and as few colours as possible, and always accompanied by four lines of verse.
Apart from other series of children's books in the vein of Miffy (which he wrote and drew), Dick Bruna has also illustrated and designed the covers of the books of many well-known authors.
His designs for the covers of Simenon's Maigret are famous. They usually are dominated by a monochrome silhouette of a pipe.
[edit] Biography
Dick Bruna's father eventually became Netherlands largest publisher. His company had a bookstand at virtually every one of the country's abundant railway stations.
His father meant him to be his follower, what Dick had no intention to do. Instead, his brother did, while Dick just collaborated at the company.
In 1955, while on holidays with his wife and child, he saw a rabbit hopping around their house and later made attempts to draw it, thereby creating Miffy.
Over the years, he worked on the graphical design of numerous books published by Zwarte Beertjes (his father's company), including The Saint, James Bond and Shakespeare. He also translated books into Dutch (Maigret).
[edit] Influences
At a old age Bruna started drawing, but also getting influenced by other artists. He drew covers for the school newspaper in Walt Disney style. Later he admired Rembrandt and Van Gogh.
The biggest influence was perhaps Matisse. Dick Bruna's first works were based on collages by the French painter.
Pablo Picasso and Dick Bruna were said to be admirers of each other's work.
