Jan van Oort
| Jan van Oort | |
|---|---|
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Jean Dulieu (1962)
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|
| Born |
13 April 1921 Amsterdam |
| Died | 29 November 2006 (aged 85) Arnhem |
| Nationality | Dutch |
| Area(s) | Writer, cartoonist |
| Pseudonym(s) | Jean Dulieu |
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Notable works
|
Paulus the woodgnome |
| Awards | Best Children's book 1962, Edison, Stripschapsprijs |
| www.paulusarchief.nl | |
Jan van Oort (13 April 1921 in Amsterdam – 29 November 2006 in Arnhem) was a Dutch children's book writer and comic strip cartoonist, working under the pseudonym of Jean Dulieu. He is known for his creation of Paulus the woodgnome.
Jan van Oort was born on 13 April 1921 in Amsterdam. He was the son of concert singer Hendrik C. van Oort, and grandson of the political cartoonist Johan Braakensiek. Van Oort was into music, and creative activities such as drawing and puppet making.
Jan van Oort studied the violin on the conservatorium where he graduated in 1940, and became violinist with the Amsterdam Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. During the Dutch famine of 1944, the orchestra was decommissioned, allowing Van Oort more time for drawing. While living at the time in Soest, he made twelve designs of gnomes, and let his wife Kitty Sijmons pick the best one. This one he elaborated to a full-blown children's book character and named him Paulus.
Shortly after the war, Van Oort and his family moved to Terschelling, and a year later ended his participation in the orchestra, aiming for a full job in comics strips, although having no education in this field.
In 1984 when he was 63, he finished his cartoonist career. Van Oort died in 2006 in Arnhem, at the age of 85. In September of that year, his daughter Dorinde van Oort published a novel about her family, where her father is named Lepel Mansborg.
Paulus the woodgnome was published from 1946 onward in the daily newspaper Het Vrije Volk. Van Oort used the pseudonym of Jean Dulieu, the literal French translation of Jan van Oort, to protect a possible image loss to his violinist career in case of failure in his cartooning work. In total, Van Oort created approximately 3600 comic strips for this newspaper.
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