Product Description
Gnomes is the product of Rien Poortvliet and Wil Huygens observation of the local gnome population in Holland. Until
Gnomes was first published in Dutch in 1976, these friendly nocturnal creatures were only represented in folk lore; descriptions were often incomplete or simply inaccurate. Poortvliet and Huygen, having studied and interviewed gnomes for two decades, set out to fill this gap with their own encyclopedic tome.
Gnomes covers all areas of gnome culture, including architecture, education, courtship, medicine, industry, and relationships with other mythical creatures. Huygens sober descriptions are balanced by Poortvliets light-hearted portrayals of gnomes at work and at play. Thirty years later, this beautifully illustrated volume continues to engage and enchant readers of all ages.
About the Author
Rien Poortvliet, born in 1932, was one of the most popular Dutch artists, regarded by colleagues as the Bach of wildlife painters. He illustrated more than twenty books before his death in 1995. The Rien Poortvliet Museum in Middelharnis, Holland, opened in 1992 and is dedicated to his works.
Wil Huygen was born in Amersfoort, Holland, in 1923, the seventh of ten children. A physician and children's author, Huygen has recently taken up oil painting. He still lives in Holland with his wife and has five grown children of his own.