"But I don't sit down and think: this is meant for children." -- Dick Bruna
Dick Bruna (b. August 23, 1927 in Utrecht) is a Dutch author, artist, illustrator and graphic designer.
Bruna is best known for his children's books which he authored and illustrated, now numbering over 200. His best known creation is Miffy (Nijntje in the original Dutch), a small rabbit drawn with heavy graphic lines, simple shapes and primary colors. Other recurring characters include Boris the little boy bear and Barbara his girlfriend, Poppy the kind pig lady and Snuffy the dog. Additionally, Bruna has also created stories for characters such as Lottie, Farmer John, and Hettie Hedgehog.
Aside from his prolific catalog of children's books, Bruna also illustrated and designed book covers, posters and promotional materials for his father's publishing company A.W. Bruna and Zoon. His most popular designs graced the covers of the Zwarte Beertjes series of books.
Among his designs those for Simenon's Maigret are quite famous. They are typified by graphic silhouettes of a pipe on various backgrounds.
"Before he went to sleep, I told him a little story about a rabbit we saw run around the beach house we rented.""But we discovered that, although I liked publishing, the commercial side meant nothing at all to me.""Each book first begins with a little idea.""However, my father was a publisher and it was expected that I would become a publisher as well - in his firm.""I come from a family of business people, but I had the idea I wanted to become an artist.""I did about 2000 covers altogether, for all sorts of books - from Shakespeare to James Bond - and I always had the idea that I must give 100%, no matter who the author was.""I have been drawing all my life.""I thought it was amazing to work with authors, to get a manuscript and try to make up a cover for it.""I thought it would be very nice to become Picasso or Rembrandt, or a van Gogh.""I want a nice picture book with 12 pictures - I do my best with that format.""Miffy has changed quite a lot since the early books, although I never realised it at the time.""My father realised that for me to become a publisher in his firm would have been the end of the firm!""Now, I had been drawing all this time - especially in France of course - so, when I came back, my father gave me the chance to do a cover for one of the books he published.""Right at the beginning, I didn't know if Miffy was a boy or girl.""Then one day I thought it would be wonderful to make a whole book, to make my text and my drawings together, and that's how I started doing children's books.""When I make a book, I make it for the child and not for the parent - no jokes in it for the parents!"
Dick Bruna's father eventually became the largest publisher in Netherlands. His company, A.W. Bruna & Zoon, had a bookstand at virtually every one of the country's abundant railway stations. His father's intentions were for Bruna to follow in his footsteps, but Bruna had different plans. Bruna's brother eventually took over the business, but Dick Bruna always remained a close collaborator.
In 1955, while on holiday with his wife Irene and their child, he saw a rabbit hopping around their house and later made attempts to draw it, thereby creating Miffy. "Miffy" is the English-language name, whereas "Nijntje" (pronounced nein-che) is the original Dutch name of the rabbit, stemming from "konijntje" which is the diminutive form of "konijn" (rabbit).
Over the years Bruna has illustrated over 2,000 covers and over 100 posters for the family business, A.W. Bruna & Zoon. His most recognized illustrations were for the Zwarte Beertjes () series of books, including The Saint, James Bond, Simenon, and Shakespeare.
At a young age Bruna started drawing, but was also influenced by artists of other art forms. He drew covers for his 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. Bruna has also been noted to have been influenced by the Dutch graphic design movement, De Stijl, in particular the work of architect Gerrit Rietveld.
Image:Dick-bruna-wall-of-fame.jpg|Rotterdam Walk of FameImage:Miffy_Statue_in_Utrecht.jpg|Miffy Statue on the "Nijntje Pleintje" in UtrechtImage:Neudenijntje.jpg|The "Neudeflat" in UtrechtImage:Nijntje_Amsterdam.jpg|Miffy Shop, Amsterdam