Artist of the day: Artist of the day, March 29: Jan Balet, German illustrator, painter

Thursday, March 29, 2018

Artist of the day, March 29: Jan Balet, German illustrator, painter

Jan Balet (1913-2009) was born in Bremen, Germany. His schooling began there and, as a result of his more-than-mischievous conduct, continued somewhat tempestuously, until he eventually focused his efforts at the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich. Under Professor Olaf Gulbransson, he developed his artistic skills and found ways to think about and express his unique vision. The composition required for advertising and the reduction of details necessary for illustrating stories became his forte. Balet learned to create concise scenes depicting his own creative narratives, full of ironic wit and engaging paradox.

In 1938, he made the decision to leave his brief service in the German army by obtaining a short-term visa to the United States. Jan stayed in the U.S. in protest of the military's anti-Semitism. During his more than 25 years there, spent mostly in New York City, Jan developed a very successful commercial art career, designing for major companies and eventually going out on his own as a commercial illustrator. His years in New York also saw Jan’s ventures into the world of children’s books, both as author and illustrator.

To help fund his 1965 return to Germany, Jan sold this folk art collection. Once in his homeland, he turned his energy to painting and print-making. Thus began his second successful career. As an artist, Jan established a solid reputation that resulted in exhibitions and sales of his work throughout Europe

Jan Balet’s art is both an expression of delight and an invitation to consider something deeper and more meaningful about our inner world, our private relationships, and the society in which we live. His images often allude to the era 1910-30: family and wedding portraits of the period, fashions and vehicles of the time, local shops, and homes of yesteryear. Other references in his art are mythological, historical, literary, even at times, recognizably very personal. In all of his subject matter, however, he rarely portrays a face that can be specifically identified. Rather, he makes use of his unique, general type - representing anyone and everyone.

Balet created image after image, year after year. His superior draftsmanship and formal artistic methods created an art that engages viewers on various levels of artistic interest, while enticing them to look closer for the intriguing underpinnings of the social and psychological. His art continues to delight and challenge us today.

© 2018. All images are copyrighted © by Jan Balet or assignee. The use of any image from this site is prohibited unless prior written permission from the artist is obtained.