 Dick Bruna's father, A. W. Bruna, directed the family-owned publishing company Bruna, with his brother Henk Bruna.His father's intentions were for Bruna to follow in his footsteps, but Bruna had different plans and wanted to be an artist.He traveled to London and lived for a while in Paris, where he fell under the influence of Ferdinand Leger, Pablo Picasso, and especially Henri Matisse.