Fiep Westendorp is one of the Netherlands’ most famous illustrators who is mostly known for her coöperation with Annie M.G. Schmidt. Schmidt is amongst others the writer of the children’s books Jip en Janneke (pictured below) and Pluk van de Petteflet.
I was having a discussion a few years ago whether children would actually enjoy these kinds of illustrations which are very appreciated by illustrators but represent a rather abstracted vision of reality. I remember as a kid I only realized both Jip en Janneke were actually black when I was about 12 years old. This somehow never registered and was not mentioned in the stories either. Makes you wonder if Schmidt and Westendorp used it as a graphic technique or if they chose black kids on purpose.
