Jean Dulieu (1921-2006)

Jean Dulieu, pseudonym and French rendering of Jan van Oort (Amsterdam, April 13, 1921 – Arnhem, November 29, 2006), was a Dutch children's author and comics artist. He is best known as the creator of the book, radio and television series Paulus the forest gnome

Van Oort was the son of the classical bass singer Hendrik van Oort and a grandson of the mainly political cartoonist Johan Braakensiek. He studied violin at the conservatory and in 1944 became a violinist with the Amsterdam Concertgebouw Orchestra.[1] During the Hunger Winter, the orchestra was put on hold, giving him time to focus on drawing. He made a design of twelve different gnomes and let his wife choose the best one. He developed this into a children's book character and gave him the name Paulus.

'Paulus the forest gnome' appeared from 1946 as a comic strip in the daily newspaper Het Vrije Volk. He did this under the pseudonym Jean Dulieu, the French translation by Jan van Oort (gens du lieu is also French for the local population). This in order not to damage his good name in the music world in the event of a possible fiasco. In total, Dulieu made nearly 3600 Paulus comic episodes. Shortly after the war, Dulieu moved with his wife and daughter to the island of Terschelling and a year later he said goodbye to the orchestra. From that moment on, he decided to earn his living by drawing and writing, although he had no training in that.

The first illustrated Paul children's books were published in 1948, including 'Paulus de help Sinterklaas' and 'Paul's winter book'. The last title featured colored illustrations. Numerous other titles followed over the years, such as 'Paulus en Eucalypta', 'Paulus en het dakje', 'Paulus en Kenarrepoere' and 'Paulus en Schipper Makreel'. His masterpiece 'Paulus en de akelmenetjes' was published in 1964, which was characterized by the many color reproductions and the death theme. Several of Van Oort's books have been translated into English, German, South African, Japanese and Swedish.

In addition to Paulus, Dulieu made the book 'Boffie en Buikie in de knot' for Albert Heijn in 1953, an album for which 96 strips could be collected that were included with AH articles. Following his travels to Italy, Dulieu published Francesco in 1956 on the life of Francis of Assisi. He was also an employee of the children's magazine Kris Kras, for which he wrote the Kris Kras Kolderkrant in 1961, a satirical section whose formula corresponded roughly to the American magazine MAD, which would also appear in a Dutch version three years later.

From 1955 to 1964, Paulus the forest gnome was broadcast as a radio play. Dulieu did all the voices himself, except that of Princess Priegeltje, who was voiced by his daughter Dorinde van Oort. From 1967 Dulieu made 39 Paulus de Boskabouter puppet films of 10 minutes for the NTS program Monitor. For this he made all the puppets, sets and attributes himself. The films were also broadcast in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Canada and Australia. In the meantime he had moved into a studio in the Soesterbos under Baarn.

In the early 1970s, the artist started a new series of comic strips for the newspaper, which would comprise 23 stories. In 1984 he put an end to his Paul creation, but to this day Paul books with unpublished material still appear.

Dulieus book Paulus the helper Nicholas was awarded the best children's book in 1962 and he himself received an Edison for a gramophone record of one of the Paulus stories. His work as a cartoonist was awarded the Stripschapprijs in 1981.

Since 1990, the Paulus Archief has been writing and publishing the life and work of Dulieu, including through the magazine Bouterbode.

Jean Dulieu, aka Jan van Oort, died in 2006 at the age of 85. In September 2006 his daughter Dorinde van Oort published a novel Woman in the Shadow about her family, in which Dulieu appears as Lepel Mansborg. In November 2012, Paulus de Boskabouter or The Double Life of Jean Dulieu, a biography by Dorinde van Oort about her father, was published. Unlike Woman in the Shadows, this biography contains only facts. Dorinde tries to describe her father's life objectively and exclusively on the basis of sources. Dorinde had, among other things, her father's diaries and letters that her parents sent each other. The mysteries from the family novel reappear, but this time from the roles of her father and grandfather.