'Jubelientje Draaft Door'.
Philip Hopman is a Dutch illustrator of children's books. He has worked extensively with writers like Hans Hagen, Tjibbe Veltkamp, Marjet Huiberts and Ted van Lieshout, giving life to popular characters like Hagen's 'Jubelientje' (1991-2016), Huiberts' 'Ridder Florian' (2006-2017) and Van Lieshout's 'Boer Boris' (2012-). 'Jubelientje' also appeared in comic strips, published in Okki (2002-2005).
Early life and career
Philip Hopman was born in 1961 in the coastal town of Egmond. A talented doodler since his childhood, one of his high school teachers advised him to apply at the Rietveld Academy of Art & Design in Amsterdam. He was accepted, and started out at the Fashion department. He quickly switched to Illustration, where one of his teachers was Thé Tjong-Khing. Upon graduation, he stayed in Amsterdam, where he held several odd jobs until releasing his first children's book, 'Een Reuze Heksentoer' (Leopold, 1988).
'Jubelientje'.
Hans Hagen & Jubelientje
Shortly afterwards, Hopman began his steady collaboration with author Hans Hagen. They made a couple of booklets together before launching the popular 'Jubelientje' series (1991-2016). The playful and adventurous seven-year-old girl with her big blue hat and her lively grandmother have appeared in many children's books at the publishers Querido and Van Goor, starting with 'Jubelientje En Haar Liefste Oma' (1991). The first stories that used the comics format appeared in 'Jubelientje Speelt Vals' (2002). Between 2002 and 2005, more 'Jubelientje' comics appeared in the children's magazine Okki. Those episodes were collected in the books 'Jubelientje Draaft Door' (2003) and 'Jubelientje Pakt Uit' (2005).
'Boer Boris en de Eieren'.
Other collaborations
For writer Tjibbe Veldkamp, Hopman has additionally illustrated the picture books 'Temmer Tom' (Malmberg, 1998), '22 Wezen' (Lemniscaat, 1998) and 'Een Ober Van Niks' (Ploegsma, 2003). Hopman himself wrote the text for 'Valentijn en zijn Viool' (Lemniscaat, 2012), about a boy who plays the violin in an awful way, but his performances always have a surprising effect. With Marjet Huiberts, he has made several books in rhyme about the scared 'Prins Florian' (Gottmer, 2006-2017). Since 2012, he has also worked with Ted van Lieshout on the book series about 'Boer Boris' (Gottmer, 2012-), a farmer boy who lives on a farm with his brother, sisters and a lot of barnyard animals. The character has also appeared in a stage show, songs, animated shorts and other merchandising.
In 2016, Hopman made the book which accompanied the exhibition about French fashion designer Hubert de Givenchy in the The Hague Municipal Museum. Many of De Givenchy's designs were worn by Audrey Hepburn in her films. Hopman created a story in text comics format which reads as a split biography of both De Givenchy and Hepburn.
Recognition
In 1999, Philip Hofman received the "Zilveren Penseel" ("Silver Brush") awared for his illustrations for '22 Wezen'. In 2022, he was awarded the Max Velthuijs Prize, a triennial lifetime achievement award for Dutch illustrators. He was nominated for the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award in 2024.
Philip Hopman eventually left Amsterdam and returned to his home town Egmond, where he lives on a farm.
'Hubert De Givenchy'.