Jean Dulieu
Jan van Oort (13 April 1921 – 29 November 2006) 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. Personal biography 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