Jan van Haasteren

Profile

Jan van Haasteren was born on 24 February 1936 in Schiedam and is the eldest son of Albert van Haasteren and Elizabeth Tilman. He grew up alongside his brothers Herman (1939) and Cor (1949).

Jan married Romi, and together they had two daughters, Saskia (1968) and Petra (1971). Jan lives in Bergen, where, besides drawing, he enjoys spending time playing chess and tennis.

Over the years, Jan built an impressive career as a comic artist and illustrator. His distinctive humorous drawing style eventually evolved into a worldwide puzzle phenomenon through the successful collaboration with Royal Jumbo.

Childhood and Education

At a young age, Jan van Haasteren discovered his passion for drawing. He grew up during and shortly after the World War II, a period marked by change and uncertainty. Because of the war, his childhood was unsettled, and his schooling was temporarily interrupted. Jan even spent a short period in England before returning to his family in the Netherlands. Despite those turbulent years, drawing always remained an important part of his life.

As a child, Jan was already fascinated by comic strips and humorous illustrations. He was especially drawn to absurd situations and funny details. This love of humor would later develop into his distinctive drawing style.

Before becoming a professional illustrator, Jan spent two years studying house and decorative painting at a vocational school. During that time, he even painted the bedroom he shared with his brother. It was there that the now famous “little hands” first appeared, a recurring element that would later regularly feature in his puzzles.

From 1951 to 1955, Jan studied at the Academy of Visual Arts and Technical Sciences Rotterdam in Rotterdam. On his father’s advice, he chose to study commercial illustration. After completing his studies, Jan immediately started working at an advertising agency, but at the age of nineteen, he was called up for military service. After completing his service, he left his parents’ home, and his career as an illustrator truly began to take shape.

Career

His career truly gained momentum when he started working at the well known Marten Toonder Studios. Here, Jan contributed to popular comic series and characters such as Kappie, Tom Poes, Donald Duck, De Boze Wolf and Hiawatha. During this period, Jan continued to develop his own humorous and detailed drawing style.

Later, Jan moved to Geesink Studio, where he worked in the Geesink Artists department on projects including Rick de Kikker. At the same time, he also continued working as a freelancer for the Toonder Studios.

In 1967, Jan decided to work entirely as a freelance illustrator from home. From that moment on, his own work increasingly took centre stage. He collaborated with various writers, illustrators and clients, creating countless comic strips, illustrations and advertising posters.

Over the years, Jan became one of the best known humorous illustrators in the Netherlands. His work and career are described in detail in the book Jan van Haasteren: van striptekenaar tot puzzelfenomeen.

For his major contribution to the Dutch comic world, Jan received the ‘Bulletje en Boonestaak Schaal’ from Het Stripschap in 2006. In 2013, he was appointed a Knight in the Order of Orange-Nassau.

Some famous works

Over the years, Jan van Haasteren contributed to many well known comic series and created several original characters of his own. His humorous style, absurd situations and attention to small details were already clearly recognisable in his work.

For the comic magazines Sjors and Eppo, Jan brought the popular character Tinus Trotyl to life. Tinus is known for his great love of explosions and spectacular experiments. His famous catchphrase, “No words, just explosions”, quickly became familiar to many comic readers. His loyal companion Thomas regularly tries to stop him by asking, “Are you sure you should do that, Tinus?”, though usually without success.

Together with writer Patty Klein, Jan created several successful family comic strips, including Bartje and Opa. Later came comic strips such as Sjaak and Oom George and Erik and Opa. These comics are considered early examples of the Dutch family comic genre and were loved for their relatable humour and comedic situations.

Another well known creation by Jan is Baron van Tast tot Zeveren, which appeared in the comic magazine Pep. The stories revolve around the absurd adventures of Baron van Tast, a character who sees strange and impossible situations everywhere. This comic also featured many background jokes and hidden details for the first time, elements that would later become so characteristic of Jan van Haasteren puzzles.

The now famous shark fin also made its first appearance here. Baron van Tast became a great success and later received several comic albums of its own. Ultimately, this comic marked an important step towards the humorous posters and, later, the world famous Jan van Haasteren jigsaw puzzles.