Jan Balet

Jan Balet (born July 20, 1913 in Bremen , † January 31, 2009 in Estavayer-le-Lac ( Switzerland )) was a German-American painter, draftsman and illustrator. Influenced by the Naive Art style , he mainly worked as a graphic artist and illustrator of children's books, as well as a painter of naive-absurd pictures with the composition dominating, flat, mostly male figures in fin de siècle clothing in front of backgrounds that despite precise perspective construction appear unreal (Peter Wiench, General Artists Dictionary ).

Life

childhood

Balet was the son of German-Dutch parents. After his parents separated in 1916, at the age of 3, he moved with his mother, née Eggert, to live with his grandparents in Langenargen on Lake Constance. His grandfather was Chief Justice Officer Eduard Eggert , his uncle the painter and illustrator Benno Eggert . At that time, many well-known personalities frequented his grandfather's house, including the painters Hans Purrmann , Karl Caspar , Maria Caspar-Filser (his mother's cousin), the writer Martin Andersen Nexø , the Swabian poet Wilhelm Schussen and the Alsatian poet and writer Oskar Wöhrle , Balet's godfather. In 1920 his grandfather sold the house in Langenargen and they moved to Friedrichshafen .

schooldays

Balet started school in the elementary school in Friedrichshafen in 1920 . After the death of his grandfather in 1926, Balet was sent to the Schloss Salem school because his mother and grandmother could no longer get along with him . The stay did not last long. At the age of 14 they sent him to Munich in 1927 to the Hansa-Heim, a strictly Catholic house. There he attended the old secondary school in Schwabing during the day. Before completing the sixth grade, Balet left school to do an apprenticeship in a painting company in Bogenhausen, which he ended prematurely after the second year of training.

Education

At the age of 17 he moved to Berlin in 1929 at the invitation of his father and studied at the Kunstgewerbeschule Ost at the Schlesischer Bahnhof and learned to draw. In 1930 he moved back to his mother and grandmother, who had moved to Munich in the meantime. After being kicked out of the Munich School of Applied Arts in 1932, he was placed in Professor Ege's private school, a school for commercial graphics. On the side Balet worked in a lithography company and for the folk art house Wallach. At the age of 19 Balet rented his first small studio, in which he produced hand-colored Bavarian costumes woodcuts and successfully sold them. In 1934 he passed the entrance exam for the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich and learned to draw from Olaf Gulbransson .

Emigration to the USA

In 1938 he was drafted into the military. Since his ancestral passport was incomplete, he was no longer allowed to attend the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich . Balet emigrated to the USA in 1938, settled in New York and initially earned his living painting country furniture , spending a winter as a ski instructor in Vermont and doing odd jobs as a commercial artist. Among other things, he painted the canteen of the largest New York department store RH Macy . He married the young Irish woman Bertha Quinn. In 1940 his son Peter was born. From time to time Balet made drawings for the fashion magazine Mademoiselle and succeeded the art director there in 1943 . Through an agent, Balet got so many commercial graphic jobs that he gave up his job and started his own business. He worked for the radio station CBS , for magazines such as Vogue , House and Garden , House Beautiful , Saturday Evening Post , Glamor , Good Housekeeping , This week and many others. When the war in Europe ended in 1945, Balet acquired American citizenship. His son was 5 years old when his wife and the boy moved in with their parents and Balet and his wife Bertha Quinn divorced. Balet commuted between his studio in New York and an old boathouse in the dunes in Montauk , Long Island , which he had converted into a studio. He painted and drew. At that time he also made his first children's book Amos and the moon , which appeared in 1948. When it was possible to travel to Europe again after the war, Balet visited his mother and grandmother in Munich for the first time since his emigration and then spent two months in Paris . The stay in Paris was very inspiring for his future work. In 1949 his grandmother died at the age of 93. His grandmother was "the most important and dearest person" in his life. Around this time he met the American model Lisa Tallal, whom he persuaded to study medicine. Balet sold the boathouse and found his dream home, an old farmhouse , in Brookville , also on Long Island but closer to New York. Lisa and he got married after a few years. Balet hardly got into painting anymore because he had to earn money with commercial art to finance his wife's increasingly lavish lifestyle. On her travels to Europe and Mexico, Balet took a lot of photos because there was not enough time to draw. Balet painted his style, although abstract , op-art and pop art were in demand in America back then . In 1963 his mother died and he inherited the house in Munich. In 1964, as a former student of Olaf Gulbransson , he was invited by the city of Munich to exhibit in the pavilion of the Alter Botanischer Garten Stachus . Part of this exhibition consisted of his graphic works, his children's books and illustrations, the other part of his pictures. The pictures were all sold after good reviews. This encouraged Balet to continue painting in his way.

Return to Europe

In 1966 Balet separated from his Fau Lisa and returned to Munich. He started again to make picture books and painted in order to implement the impressions he had gathered while traveling. He arranged his own exhibitions in Munich and sold his pictures. In 1973 he and his then partner Claudia, who was actually called Gerda C. Foth, moved to France in the town of La Landelle near Paris . He now lived in the country that had always inspired him the most. He had increasing success with painting and no longer needed to do commercial art. In 1976 Balet was commissioned by the art dealer Circle Fine Art Corporation to make a number of lithographs in Switzerland every year. The art dealer arranged several exhibitions of these lithographs in different countries, initially as part of a large art exhibition in Paris. In 1978 Balet and his wife Claudia moved to Estavayer-le-Lac on Lake Neuchâtel in Switzerland so that they didn't have to travel so far to Zurich to do lithography . His ancestors on his father's side happened to come from the area, namely from Grimisuat in Valais . Half the population there is called Balet .

plant

Own publications (children's books and sketchbooks)

• 1948 Amos and the moon, Henry Z. Walck Verlag New York
• 1949 Ned, Ed and the lion
• 1951 What makes an orchestra
• 1959 The five Rollatinis, JB Lippincott Co. New York publishers
• 1965 Joanjo, Pharos Verlag Basel
• 1966 The present A Portuguese Christmas story, Betz-Verlag Munich
• 1967 The king and the broom-maker, Betz-Verlag Munich
• 1969 The fence, Otto Maier Verlag Munich
• 1969 Ladismaus, Betz-Verlag Munich
• 1979 A sketchbook, Windecker Winkelpresse
• 1980 Cat sketches, Windecker Winkelpresse
• 1981 Pairs of sketches, Windecker Winkelpresse
• 1981 The rental cat or How to learn to love cats, Windecker Winkelpresse (Author: Otto Schönberger)
• 1982 Paris sketches, Windecker Winkelpresse
• 1984 Hellas sketches, Windecker Winkelpresse
• 1993 Water sketches, Toni Pongratz edition
• 1994 The Zeppelins of Jan Balet, Zeppelin Museum Friedrichshafen (paperback)
• 2008 Arrived: Poems (Author: Hans Skupy)

Publications illustrated by Jan Balet

• 1945 Alarcon, PA: Tales from the Spanish, Allentown
• 1948 Hanle-Zack, D .: The golden ladle, Chicago-New York
• 1952 Wing, H .: Rosalinda, Chicago
• 1953 Wing, H .: The lazy lion, Chicago
• 1954 Jones, P .: Rumpelstiltskin, Chicago
• 1955 Jones, P .: Columbine, Chicago
• 1956 Jones, P .: Fair, brown and trembling, Chicago
• 1957 Bean blossom hill, Chicago
• 1958 King, MB: The birthday angel, Chicago
• 1959 King, MB: Papa Pompino, Chicago
• 1960 King, MB: The snow queen, Chicago
• 1960 Doyle, L .: Turkey and ham, New York
• 1962 Andersen, HC: The princess on the pea and other famous stories, New York
• 1963 Dickens, Ch .: The magic fishbone and other famous stories, New York
• 1963 Selden, G .: Mice, monks and the christmas tree, New York
• 1964 Rossetti, C .: Adding a poem, New York
• 1967 Just one me, Chicago
• 1968 Krüss, J .: Ein Eich & Mondhorn, Munich
• 1986 Schönberger, O .: The rental cat or how to learn to love cats, Frankfurt

Prizes and awards

• 1947 Gold Medal, Art Directors Club of New York
• 1948 Best of Industry, Direct Mail Award
• 1948 Gold Medal, Art Directors Club of New York
• 1948 Merit Award, Art Institute of Chicago
• 1949 Merit Award, Art Institute of Chicago
• 1950 Merit Award, Art Institute of Chicago
• 1952 Award, Book Clinic, Chicago
• 1954 Merit Award, Art Directors Club of Chicago
• 1954 Award for Merit, Art Directors Club of New York
• 1954 Certificate of Excellence, American Institute of Graphic Arts, New York
• 1956 Award, Book Clinic, Chicago
• 1956 Gold Medal, Art Directors Club of New York
• 1956 Gold Medal, Art Directors Club of Detroit
• 1956 Silver Medal, Art Directors Club of Detroit
• 1957 Certificate of Excellence, Society of Typographic Arts, Chicago
• 1957 Certificate of Merit, Art Directors Club of New York
• 1958 Certificate of Excellence, Society of Typographic Arts, Chicago
• 1959 Certificate of Excellence, Society of Typographic Arts, Chicago
• 1959 Citation for Merit, Society of Illustrators, New York
• 1960 Citation for Merit, Society of Illustrators, New York
• 1960 Award, Book Clinic, Chicago
• 1962 Citation for Merit, Society of Illustrators, New York
• 1965 Grammy Award, Best Album Cover - Classical, Robert M. Jones (art director) & Jan Balet (graphic artist) for Saint-Saens: Carnival of the Animals / Britten: Young Persons Guide to the Orchestra conducted by Arthur Fiedler
• 1980 Prix d'honneur, Concours International de la Peinture Naive, Morges / Suisse
• 1981 Prix d'argent, Concours International de la Peinture Naive, Morges / Suisse

Exhibitions

• 1964 Munich, Old Botanical Garden pavilion
• 1966 Munich, Old Botanical Garden pavilion
• 1967 Berlin, Tiergarten Art Office
• 1968 Waiblingen, town hall
• 1969 Düsseldorf, Galerie Vömel
• 1971 Hamburg, Atelier Mensch
• 1972 Bremen, Paule-Modersohn-Becker-Haus
• 1972 Berlin, Niebuhr Gallery
• 1972 Munich, Old Botanical Garden pavilion
• 1972 Düsseldorf, Galerie Vömel
• 1973 Hamburg Atelier Mensch
• 1974 Zurich Gallery Niggli
• 1975 Düsseldorf, Galerie Vömel
• 1976 Hamburg, Atelier Mensch
• 1976 Paris, FIAC
• 1977 Washington, ART Washington
• 1977 New York, Studio 53
• 1977 Basel, ART 77
• 1977 Bologna, Arte Fiera 77
• 1977 Knokke, Jacobean Gallery
• 1977 Munich, Schöninger Gallery
• 1977 San Francisco, Cory Gallery
• 1977 Marblehead, Quadrum Gallery
• 1977 Königstein, Galerie Spranger
• 1977 Cologne, Galerie Orange
• 1978 Amsterdam, Galerie Hamer
• 1978 Washington, ART Washington
• 1978 Basel, ART 78
• 1978 Klosters, Gallery 63
• 1978 Los Angeles, Upstairs Gallery
• 1978 Long Beach, Upstairs Gallery
• 1978 Northridge, Upstairs Gallery
• 1978 Beverly Hills, Upstairs Gallery
• 1978 Orange County, Upstairs Gallery
• 1978 San Francisco, Cory Gallery
• 1978 Siegburg, Theisen Gallery
• 1978 Düsseldorf, international art market
• 1979 Vervier / Belgium, Keuninckx Gallery
• 1979 Berlin, Galerie Wölffer
• 1979 Basel, ART 78
• 1979 Munich, Charlotte Gallery
• 1979 Düsseldorf, Galerie Vömel
• 1980 Hamburg, Atelier Mensch
• 1980 Morges, Galeris Pro Arte
• 1980 Ascona, Galleria Associazione Artisti
• 1980 Amsterdam, Galerie Hamer
• 1981 Oisterwijk, Galerie de Ganzerik
• 1981 Cartigny-Genève, L'Escapade Gallery
• 1982 Caracas, Galeria Contini
• 1982 Basel, Art 82
• 1982 Düsseldorf, Galerie Vömel
• 1983 Hamburg, Atelier Mensch
• 1983 Caracas, Galeria Contini
• 1983 Lima, Galeria Trapezio
• 1983 Langenargen, museum
• 1984 Munich, City Museum
• 1985 New York, Circle Gallery
• 1986 New York, Jack Gallery
• 1987 Brussels, International Center of Naive Art
• 1988–1991 Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, San Francisco, Miami, Los Angeles
• 1992 Tokyo, Naif Tanaka Gallery
• 1994 Friedrichshafen, Zeppelin Museum
• 1996 Nonnenhorn on Lake Constance, Probst Gallery
• 1997 Asbach District of Passau, Museum Kloster Asbach
• 1998 Zurich or Bern, Galerie Zum Grauen Wind
• 1999 Zurich, Wolfsberg Gallery
• 1999 Rheinfelden, Salmegg house
• 2001 Zug, old town house
• 2002 Munich, Galerie Hell
• 2004 Munich, Galerie Hell
• 2008 Worb, Atelier Worb
• 2008 Bad Saulgau, Gallery "Fähre"

literature

• R. Zuck, Naive Painting, M./W. 1974
• Jan Balet, Paintings - Drawings - Graphics - Museum Langenargen on Lake Constance, 1983
• Nebojsa Tomasevic, World Encyclopaedia of Naive Art, Frederick Muller Ltd, 1984
• Oto Bihalji-Merin , The Naive of the World, Eltville 1986
• Jan Balet's zeppelins. Catalog of the exhibition in the Zeppelin Museum Friedrichshafen June 8, 1994 - July 31, 1994.
• Marcus, Leonard S .: 75 Years of Children's Book Week Posters: Celebrating Great Illustrators of American Children's Books, New York 1994
• Klaus Doderer, Lexicon of Children's and Youth Literature, Beltz, Unchanged Reprint, 1995
• Ralf Michael Fischer: Reflections on the Naive - Jan Balet as a painter, graphic artist and illustrator, catalog for the exhibition at Museum Langenargen, March 24, 2019 to October 27, 2019, Langenargen 2019.

Web links

• Illustrations by Jan Balet
• Blog u. a. about Jan Balet