| Birth Date: | 7 August 1932 |
| Birth Place: | Schiedam, Netherlands |
| Death Place: | Soest, Netherlands |
| Nationality: | Dutch |
| Known For: | Painting |
Rien Poortvliet (pronounced as /nl/; 7 August 1932 – 15 September 1995) was a Dutch artist and illustrator.[1]
Born in Schiedam, Poortvliet was best known for his drawings[2] of animals and for "Gnomes", a famous series of illustrated books with text by Wil Huygen.[3]
Poortvliet did not attend art school and his family discouraged him from becoming an artist: `My family thought that artists were, you know, a little bit dangerous, all those naked women, all that drinking all night."[4] Instead, Poortvliet's father wanted him pursue a profession that would produce a stable income, so Poortvliet began a career in advertising, initially drawing scenes of families for soap companies.[5] Poortvliet took more pleasure in the work he did on the side for several publishers. He illustrated various books, among them works by Jaap ter Haar, and Godfried Bomans. He was also a passionate hunter, which led him to drawing various nature subjects.
By the end of the 1960s, Poortvliet was able to make a living as an independent illustrator. To supplement his income, he made a book out of his drawings and watercolours based on his hunting experiences. Later on, he also made a similar work concerning the life of Jesus Christ.
For years his works were published by Van Holkema en Warendorf in Bussum, where his "Leven en werken van de Kabouter" (co-authored by Wil Huygen, English title is "Gnomes") went through 59 printings. With the Gnomes series, Poortvliet acquired international fame. This series took on a life of its own, and was turned into an animated series, The World of David the Gnome in 1985.[6]
His books have been translated into English, French, German, Swedish, Finnish, Spanish, Italian and other languages.
The Rien Poortvliet Museum is on the island of Tiengemeten in The Netherlands.[7]
Poortvliet found recognition when Prince Bernhard opened the Rien Poortvliet Museum in 1992. This museum stood in the old, historic Town Hall of Middelharnis, "Fortunately far away from the modern art gang in Amsterdam" as Poortvliet said in an interview.
Rien Poortvliet died in Soest in 1995 of bone cancer at the age of 63. He was survived by his wife Corrie Bouman and their two sons.