Dick Bruna

Pioneering Illustrator

During the middle of the twentieth century, Dick Bruna studied fine art at the classical academy in Amsterdam called Rijksakademie van beeldende kunsten. Interestingly, he soon quit his place there, as he said that he was not able to tackle perspective, and therefore was not able to be a painter. Shortly after, whilst on a family holiday, he was watching a little rabbit hopping about and started having fun doing sketches inspired by this rabbit. He began to build up a character for the rabbit, calling it 'Nijntje', a word a young child might use as a diminutive for the word 'konijntje', meaning 'little rabbit'. The English version of this name is 'Miffy'.

Miffy Illustrations

A children's book illustrator with a real passion for art, Dick Bruna counted among his influences, on the one hand, Walt Disney, and on the other Rembrandt and Van Gogh. He also deeply admired the works of Picasso, Matisse, and the Dutch artistic movement De Stijl. As an illustrator, his work was pioneering. Over a long career, he authored and illustrated over 200 books for children. Most famous among these books was his series based around the character called Miffy.

Buy Dick Bruna Prints

We are really excited to be able to have high quality limited edition prints of Dick Bruna's Miffy illustration which have been signed. These would be a great addition to any collector's array of influential children's illustrations. Or, indeed a lovely addition for any child's bedroom or playroom. The beautiful simplicity of these pieces of art are wonderfully represented in these high quality prints. There is a level of genius to making things look simple, and this is what is going on here with Bruna's illustrations. The perfect colour choices and smooth, ideally placed lines show just why Dick Bruna was quite so influential.