), was a famous German/US-American painter, graphic artist and illustrator. Affected by the style naive art

Naïve art

Naïve art is a classification of art that is often characterized by a childlike simplicity in its subject matter and technique. While many naïve artists appear, from their works, to have little or no formal art training, this is often not true...

 he worked particularly as a graphic artist and as an Illustrator

Illustrator

An Illustrator is a narrative artist who specializes in enhancing writing by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text...

 of children's books. Besides this he painted pictures in the style of naive art

Naïve art

Naïve art is a classification of art that is often characterized by a childlike simplicity in its subject matter and technique. While many naïve artists appear, from their works, to have little or no formal art training, this is often not true...

. Referred to as a “naïve” painter, his works exhibit a dry wit and refreshingly candid, satirical view of life.

Childhood

Balet was son of German/Dutch parents. 1916 after the divorce of his parents he and his mother moved to Langenargen

Langenargen

Langenargen is a town in the district of Bodensee in Baden-Württemberg in Germany.- Sports :Langenargen is an ideal venue for sports such as sailing. The town's location on the shores of Bodensee provides smooth waters even when windy. Langenargen is the host city of Match Race Germany part of the...

 at lake constance in Germany to his mother's parents. His grandfather was the senior judicial counsellor Eduard Eggert, his uncle was the famous painter and illustrator Benno Eggert. At that time many well-known personalities kept company in the house of his grandfather, f.e. the painters Hans Purrmann

Hans Purrmann

Hans Marsilius Purrmann was a German artist. He was born in Speyer where he also grew up. He completed an apprenticeship as a scene painter and interior decorator, and subsequently studied in Karlsruhe and Munich before going to Paris in 1906. It was here he became a student and later a friend of...

, Karl Caspar, Maria Caspar-Filser (cousin of his mother), the writer Martin Andersen Nexø, the Swabian poet Wilhelm Schussen as well as the poet and writer Oskar Wöhrle, Balets godfather. 1920 his grandfather sold the house in Langenargen and they moved to Friedrichshafen

Friedrichshafen

This article is about a German town. For the Danish town, see Frederikshavn, and for the Finnish town, see Fredrikshamn .Friedrichshafen is a university city on the northern side of Lake Constance in Southern Germany, near the borders with Switzerland and Austria.It is the district capital of the...

 at lake constance.

School time

1920 Balet started school. After the death of his grandfather 1926 Balet was sent to the public school Schule Schloss Salem

Schule Schloss Salem

Schule Schloss Salem is a boarding school with campuses in Hohenfels, Salem and Überlingen in Baden-Württemberg, Southern Germany. It is considered one of the most elite schools in Europe.It offers the German Abitur, as well as the International Baccalaureate...

 (Germany), because his mother and his grandmother had difficulties bringing him up. The stay at public school did not last long. 1927 as a 14-year old they sent him to Munich to the Hansa home, a strictly catholic house. There he visited grammar school. Balet left school before finishing the sixth class, in order to make an apprenticeship in a painter's shop. He cut the apprenticeship short, before the 2nd year terminated.

Studies

1929 at the age of 17 he moved to Berlin

Berlin

Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...

 on invitation of his father and studied at the college of arts to learn drawing. 1930 he moved back to his mother and his grandmother, which had moved to Munich

Munich

Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...

 in the meantime. After he got sacked from the college of arts in Munich 1932 he was accommodated in the private school of professor Ege, a school for commercial art. Beside that Balet worked in an institute for lithography and for the art gallery Wallach. With 19 years Balet rented his first small studio, where he manufactured hand colored Bavarian woodcuts for Dirndl and successfully sold them. 1934 he passed the entrance examination on the Akademie der Bildenden Künste München and learned to draw from Olaf Gulbransson

Olaf Gulbransson

Olaf Leonhard Gulbransson was a Norwegian artist, painter and designer. He is probably best known for his caricatures and illustrations.-Biography:...

.

Emigration to the USA

1938 he was recruited by the German military. Since his ancestor passport was not complete, he was not allowed to visit the Akademie der Bildenden Künste München any more. 1938 Balet emigrated to the USA, settled in New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

 and painted rustic furniture

Rustic furniture

Rustic furniture is furniture employing sticks, twigs or logs for a natural look. Many companies, artists and craftspeople make rustic furniture in a variety of styles and with a variety of historical and contemporary influences...

 for a living. One winter he jobbed as a skiing teacher in Vermont

Vermont

Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...

 and occasionally he jobbed as an advertising commercial artist. Among other things he painted the cafeteria of the largest of New Yorks department stores R.H. Macy

Macy's

Macy's is a U.S. chain of mid-to-high range department stores. In addition to its flagship Herald Square location in New York City, the company operates over 800 stores in the United States...

. He married the young Irishwoman Bertha Quinn. 1940 his son Peter was born. From time to time Balet made designs for the fashion magazine Mademoiselle

Mademoiselle (magazine)

Mademoiselle was an influential women's magazine first published in 1935 by Street and Smith and later acquired by Condé Nast Publications....

and there 1943 he succeeded the art director

Art director

The art director is a person who supervise the creative process of a design.The term 'art director' is a blanket title for a variety of similar job functions in advertising, publishing, film and television, the Internet, and video games....

. An agent got Balet so many contracts as an advertising commercial artist that he gave up his employment and started his own business. He worked on behalf the radio station CBS

CBS

CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...

, for magazines such as Vogue

Vogue (magazine)

Vogue is a fashion and lifestyle magazine that is published monthly in 18 national and one regional edition by Condé Nast.-History:In 1892 Arthur Turnure founded Vogue as a weekly publication in the United States. When he died in 1909, Condé Montrose Nast picked up the magazine and slowly began...

, House and Garden, House Beautiful

House Beautiful

House Beautiful is an interior decorating magazine that focuses on decorating and the domestic arts. First published in 1896, it is currently published by the Hearst Corporation, who purchased it in 1934...

, The Saturday Evening Post

The Saturday Evening Post

The Saturday Evening Post is a bimonthly American magazine. It was published weekly under this title from 1897 until 1969, and quarterly and then bimonthly from 1971.-History:...

, Glamour

Glamour (magazine)

Glamour is a women's magazine published by Condé Nast Publications. Founded in 1939 in the United States, it was originally called Glamour of Hollywood....

, Good Housekeeping

Good Housekeeping

Good Housekeeping is a women's magazine owned by the Hearst Corporation, featuring articles about women's interests, product testing by The Good Housekeeping Institute, recipes, diet, health as well as literary articles. It is well known for the "Good Housekeeping Seal," popularly known as the...

, This week and many others. As the war in Europe came to an end 1945 he acquired the U.S. American nationality. His son was 5 when his wife moved to her parents with the boy and Balet and his Mrs. Bertha Quinn got divorced. Balet commuted between his studio in New York and an old, boat house in the dunes of Montauk

Montauk, New York

Montauk [ˈmɒntɒk] is a census-designated place that roughly corresponds to the hamlet with the same name located in the town of East Hampton in Suffolk County, New York, United States on the South Shore of Long Island. As of the United States 2000 Census, the CDP population was 3,851 as of 2000...

, Long Island

Long Island

Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...

, which he had converted to a studio. He painted and drew. At that time he also made his first children book Amos and the moon, which appeared 1948. When travelling to Europe became possible again after the war, Balet visited his mother and his grandmother in Munich

Munich

Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...

 for the first since his emigration and afterwards he spent two months in Paris

Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

. His stay in Paris was very much inspiring for his future work. 1949 his grandmother died at the age of 93 years. His grandmother was (by his own account) "the most important and dearest person" in his life. At this time he got together with the American photo model Lisa Tallal, which he persuaded to study medicine. Balet sold his boat house and found his dream house, an old farmhouse in Brookville

Brookville, New York

The Village of Brookville is a village located within the town of Oyster Bay in Nassau County, New York. As of the 2010 United States Census, the village population was 3,465....

 (New York), likewise on Long Island

Long Island

Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...

 however more closely to New York. Lisa and him married after a few years. Balet barely did any paintings any more, because he had to paint commercial art, as the lifestyle of his wife was very exclusive. On his journeys to Europe and Mexico Balet photographed a lot, since there was not sufficient time for drawing. Balet painted his own style, although at that time in America Abstract

Abstract art

Abstract art uses a visual language of form, color and line to create a composition which may exist with a degree of independence from visual references in the world. Western art had been, from the Renaissance up to the middle of the 19th century, underpinned by the logic of perspective and an...

, Op-art and Popart were in demand. 1963 his mother died and he inherited the house in Munich. 1964 he, as a former pupil of Olaf Gulbransson

Olaf Gulbransson

Olaf Leonhard Gulbransson was a Norwegian artist, painter and designer. He is probably best known for his caricatures and illustrations.-Biography:...

, was invited of the city of Munich

Munich

Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...

, to make an exhibition in the Pavillon Alter Botanischer Garten Stachus. A part of this exhibition consisted of children's books and illustrations, the other part of commercial graphics. after good critics in the press the pictures were sold completely. This encouraged Balet to keep on painting in his special style.

Return to Europe

1966 Balet got divorced from his wife Lisa and he returned to Munich. He started to make children's books again and he painted his impressions of his journeys. He arranged his own exhibition in Munich and sold his pictures. 1973 he settled with Claudia, which was actually called Gerda C. Foth, to La Landelle in France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

, very close to Paris

Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

. He now lived in the country, the area which had always inspired him at the most. He had increasing success with painting and didn't need to produce commercial art any more. 1976 Balet received the order of an art dealer to make a certain annual number of lithographs in Switzerland. The art dealer Circle Fine Art arranged several exhibitions of these lithographs in different countries, first in the context of a large art exhibition in Paris

Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

. 1978 Claudia and Balet moved to Estavayer le Lac on Neuenburger Lake in Switzerlandus, in order not having to drive so far to Zurich

Zürich

Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is located in central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich...

 to do his lithograph work. Coincidentally his ancestors on the paternal side originated from the area, from Grimisuat

Grimisuat

Grimisuat is a municipality in the district of Sion in the canton of Valais in Switzerland.-History:Grimisuat is first mentioned around 1001-1100 as Grimisoch. The municipality was formerly known by its unknown name Grimslen, however, that name is no longer used.-Geography:Grimisuat has an area, ,...

 in Valais

Valais

The Valais is one of the 26 cantons of Switzerland in the southwestern part of the country, around the valley of the Rhône from its headwaters to Lake Geneva, separating the Pennine Alps from the Bernese Alps. The canton is one of the drier parts of Switzerland in its central Rhône valley...

. There the half of the people are named Balet.

Own publications (Children books and sketch books)

• 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, J. B. Lippincott Co. Verlag New York
• 1965 Joanjo, Pharos Verlag Basel
• 1966 Das Geschenk Eine portugiesische Weihnachtsgeschichte, Betz-Verlag München
• 1967 Der König und der Besenbinder, Betz-Verlag München
• 1969 Der Zaun, Otto Maier Verlag München
• 1969 Ladismaus, Betz-Verlag München
• 1979 Ein Skizzenbuch, Windecker Winkelpresse
• 1980 Katzen-Skizzen, Windecker Winkelpresse
• 1981 Skizzen-Paare, Windecker Winkelpresse
• 1981 Die Leihkatze oder Wie man Katzen lieben lernt, Windecker Winkelpresse (Author: Otto Schönberger)
• 1982 Paris-Skizzen, Windecker Winkelpresse
• 1984 Hellas-Skizzen, Windecker Winkelpresse
• 1993 Wasser-Skizzen, Edition Toni Pongratz
• 1994 Die Zeppeline des Jan Balet, Zeppelin-Museum Friedrichshafen (Taschenbuch)
• 2008 Angekommen: Gedichte (Author: Hans Skupy)

Publicationen, which Jan Balet illustrated

• 1945 Alarcon, P.A.: 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, M.B.: The birthday angel, Chicago
• 1959 King, M.B.: Papa Pompino, Chicago
• 1960 King, M.B.: The snow queen, Chicago
• 1960 Doyle, L.: Turkey and ham, New York
• 1962 Andersen, H.C.: 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, München
• 1986 Schönberger, O.: Die Leihkatze oder wie man Katzen lieben lernt, Frankfurt

Awards and honours

• 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 Awards of 1965
  Grammy Awards of 1965
  The 7th Grammy Awards were held in 1965. They recognized accomplishments of musicians for the year 1964.-Award winners:*Record of the Year**Astrud Gilberto & Stan Getz for "The Girl from Ipanema"*Album of the Year...
  
  , 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 München, Pavillon Alter Botanischer Garten
• 1966 München, Pavillon Alter Botanischer Garten
• 1967 Berlin, Kunstamt Tiergarten
• 1968 Waiblingen, Rathaus
• 1969 Düsseldorf, Galerie Vömel
• 1971 Hamburg, Atelier Mensch
• 1972 Bremen, Paule-Modersohn-Becker-Haus
• 1972 Berlin, Galerie Niebuhr
• 1972 München, Pavillon Alter Botanischer Garten
• 1972 Düsseldorf, Galerie Vömel
• 1973 Hamburg Atelier Mensch
• 1974 Zürich Galerie 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 München, Galerie Schöninger
• 1977 San Francisco, Cory Gallery
• 1977 Marblehead, Quadrum Gallery
• 1977 Königstein, Galerie Spranger
• 1977 Köln, Galerie Orange
• 1978 Amsterdam, Galerie Spranger
• 1978 Washington, ART Washington
• 1978 Basel, ART 78
• 1978 Klosters, Galerie 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, Galerie Theisen
• 1978 Düsseldorf, Internationaler Kunstmarkst
• 1979 Vervier/Belgien, Galerie Keuninckx
• 1979 Berlin, Galerie Wölffer
• 1979 Basel, ART 78
• 1979 München, Galerie Charlotte
• 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 Granzerik
• 1981 Cartigny-Genève, Galerie L'Escapade
• 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 München, Stadtmuseum
• 1985 New York, Circle Gallery
• 1986 New York, Jack Gallery
• 1987 Brüssel, International Centre of Naive Art
• 1988-1991 Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, San Francisco, Miami, Los Angeles
• 1992 Tokio, Galerie Naif Tanaka
• 1994 Friedrichshafen, Zeppelinmuseum
• 1996 Nonnenhorn am Bodensee, Galerie Probst
• 1997 Asbach Kreis Passau, Museum Kloster Asbach
• 1998 Zürich oder Bern, Galerie Zum Grauen Wind
• 1999 Zürich, Galerie Wolfsberg
• 1999 Rheinfelden, Haus Salmegg
• 2001 Zug, Altstadthaus
• 2002 München, Galerie Hell
• 2004 München, Galerie Hell
• 2008 Worb, Atelier Worb
• 2008 Bad Saulgau, Galerie "Die Fähre"

Balet’s works are in permanent museum collections in Europe, including the Stadt Museum in Munich, the Regierungspräsidium in Tübingen

Tübingen

Tübingen is a traditional university town in central Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated south of the state capital, Stuttgart, on a ridge between the Neckar and Ammer rivers.-Geography:...

, the Kunsthalle in Bremen

Bremen

The City Municipality of Bremen is a Hanseatic city in northwestern Germany. A commercial and industrial city with a major port on the river Weser, Bremen is part of the Bremen-Oldenburg metropolitan area . Bremen is the second most populous city in North Germany and tenth in Germany.Bremen is...

 and the Langenargen

Langenargen

Langenargen is a town in the district of Bodensee in Baden-Württemberg in Germany.- Sports :Langenargen is an ideal venue for sports such as sailing. The town's location on the shores of Bodensee provides smooth waters even when windy. Langenargen is the host city of Match Race Germany part of the...

 Museum at lake constance

Lake Constance

Lake Constance is a lake on the Rhine at the northern foot of the Alps, and consists of three bodies of water: the Obersee , the Untersee , and a connecting stretch of the Rhine, called the Seerhein.The lake is situated in Germany, Switzerland and Austria near the Alps...

.

Literature

• R. Zuck, Naive Malerei, M./W. 1974
• Jan Balet, Gemälde – Zeichnungen – Graphik – Museum Langenargen am Bodensee, 1983
• Nebojsa Tomasevic, World Encyclopaedia of Naive Art, Frederick Muller Ltd, 1984
• O. Bihalji-Merin, Die Naiven der Welt, Eltville 1986
• Die Zeppeline des Jan Balet. Katalog der Ausstellung im Zeppelin-Museum Friedrichshafen 8. Juni 1994 - 31. Juli 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, Lexikon der Kinder- und Jugendliteratur, Beltz, 1995

External links

• Illustrations by Jan Balet: http://www.flickr.com/photos/leifpeng/sets/1477407/
• Blog about Jan Balet: http://todaysinspiration.blogspot.com/2009/02/jan-balet-1913-2009.html
• German Wiki-site: http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jan_Balet