Cover Design for Zwarte Beertjes (Little Black Bears) Paperbacks, Dick Bruna, 1961

collage, h 180mm × w 118mm More details
© Dick Bruna/Mercis Publishing bv

Bruna’s artistic ambitions encountered resistance at home. As a compromise, he began designing book covers for the family publishing company. Looking back, he was grateful for this development; he realized that the restrictions such designs placed on him had been crucial to his creative development. Between 1951 and 1969 he designed over 2000 book covers. He cut, tore, drew, glued, photographed and painted, inspired by modern French artists.