Jaak Soans
Estonian state cultural award for lifetime achievement (2006) Tallinn decoration (2023) Jaak Soans (born 6 August 1943) is an Estonian sculptor and art educator, known especially for public monuments and memorial sculpture in Estonia and abroad. Soans taught for decades at the institution now known as the Estonian Academy of Arts (EKA), including as professor and head of the sculpture department, and later became emeritus professor.
Jaak Soans
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- Name
- Jaak Soans
- Born
- 6 August 1943
- Birthplace
- Tartu, Estonia
- Education
- Estonian State Art Institute (now Estonian Academy of Arts)
- Known for
- Public monuments and memorial sculpture
- Awards
- Order of the White Star, III class (2001)
- Nationality
- Estonia · Soviet Union
- Occupation
- sculptor · artist
- Honours
- Kristjan Raud Prize · Order of the White Star and 3rd Class · People's Artist of the Estonian SSR · Merited Artist of Estonian SSR
- Languages
- Estonian
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Documentary summary
Estonian state cultural award for lifetime achievement (2006) Tallinn decoration (2023) Jaak Soans (born 6 August 1943) is an Estonian sculptor and art educator, known especially for public monuments and memorial sculpture in Estonia and abroad. Soans taught for decades at the institution now known as the Estonian Academy of Arts (EKA), including as professor and head of the sculpture department, and later became emeritus professor.
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Note VALÉORINE
Jaak Soans (born 1943) is an artist and sculptor, of Estonian and Soviet nationality. The artist was born in Tartu. Jaak Soans was educated at Estonian Academy of Arts.
Languages used include Estonian. Works are held at Art Museum of Estonia. Honours include Kristjan Raud Prize, Merited Artist of Estonian SSR and Order of the White Star, 3rd Class, among others.
Composed from admitted, traceable facts · 01 October 2026
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Documentary evidence
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Authority files
wikidata · Q16405011 · wikipedia · Jaak Soans
In this article
Biography
Biography
Jaak Soans studied at Estonian Academy of Arts. Volodymyr Gamal is recorded as having studied under Jaak Soans. The recorded working language is Estonian. Work by Jaak Soans is recorded in the collections of Art Museum of Estonia. Distinctions recorded are Kristjan Raud Prize, Order of the White Star, 3rd Class, People's Artist of the Estonian SSR and Merited Artist of Estonian SSR.
Помнік Аўгусту Кіцбэргу ў Карксі-Нуі (Эстонія)
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Gedenktafel Michel Sittow Raderstraße 22
Olaf Meister
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Jaak Soans • Born — 6 August 1943 • Birthplace — Tartu, Estonia • Education — Estonian State Art Institute (now Estonian Academy of Arts) • Known for — Public monuments and memorial sculpture • Awards — Order of the White Star, III class (2001)
Early life and education
Early life and education
Soans was born in Tartu. He studied sculpture at the Estonian State Art Institute (Eesti NSV Riiklik Kunstiinstituut), graduating in 1966.
Career
Career
Soans began teaching while still a student and continued as a long-term instructor and professor in Estonia's higher art education system, alongside his studio practice and public commissions. His work and public profile have been covered in Estonian cultural criticism and media, including a major feature in Sirp and reporting in ERR's culture coverage.
Works
Works
Soans is widely associated with monumental public sculpture, including commemorative monuments and memorials. • Illustration — Monument to writer Jaan Kross in Tallinn (unveiled 2022).
Images of selected works
Images of selected works
• Illustration — Monument to Jakob Hurt (Tartu) • Illustration — Bas-relief memorial to Michel Sittow (Tallinn) • Illustration — Monument to writer Jaan Kross (Tallinn) • Illustration — Lenin monument "Decree on Land" (Schwerin) • Illustration — Deportation memorial (Võru railway station) • Illustration — Deportation memorial (Põlva railway station) • Illustration — Abstract work (Untitled)
Identity
Identity
Jaak Soans is recorded with the occupation sculptor. Recorded as a citizen of Soviet Union.
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 1 entries
1943
Jaak Soans was born on 6 August 1943.
Collections and publications
Works by Soans are held in the collections of the Art Museum of Estonia (EKM), as documented in its digital collections portal. His work has also been presented in a book-length illustrated overview (1966–2016), reported in Estonian cultural media and listed in art-publication archives.
Selected public monuments and memorials
• Anton Hansen Tammsaare memorial (Tammsaare Park, Tallinn, 1978). • Bas-relief memorial to Michel Sittow (Rataskaevu 22, Tallinn, 1982). • Monument to Kristjan Jaak Peterson (Tartu). • Monument to Jakob Hurt (Tartu). • Monument to writer Jaan Kross (Tallinn, unveiled 2022). • Lenin monument “V. I. Lenin. Decree on Land” (Schwerin, Germany, unveiled 1985). • Playing Waves (Wijk aan Zee sculpture park “Een Zee van Staal”, Netherlands, 1999). • Deportation memorial at Võru railway station (Võru, 2016). • Deportation memorial at Põlva railway station (Põlva, unveiled 2020).
Primary material
Documents and archives
reference work
- “Jaak Soans”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
authority record
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q16405011: Jaak Soans
General reference · Wikidata
Awards and honours
• Kristjan Raud Prize (1974; 1986). • Order of the White Star, III class (2001). • Estonian state cultural award for lifetime achievement (2006). • Anton Starkopf scholarship (2013). • Tallinn decoration (2023).
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Teenetemärkide andmine. Riigi Teataja.
- 2.Jaak Soans. President of the Republic of Estonia.
- 3.Eesti Vabariigi kultuuripreemiate määramine. Riigi Teataja.
- 4.Eesti Vabariigi kultuuripreemiad. Kultuuriministeerium.
- 5.Jaak Soans. City of Tallinn.
- 6.Soans, Jaak. EKABL: Eesti kunsti ja arhitektuuri biograafiline leksikon.
- 7.Kurg, Andres. Jaak Soans Tallinna Kunstihoones. Sirp. 14 September 2012.
- 8.Emeritus professors and associate professors. Estonian Academy of Arts.
- 9.Õnnitleme auliiget Jaak Soansi 80. aasta juubeli puhul!. Eesti Kunstnike Liit.
- 10.Jaak Soans rikastab skulptuurivaimu. ERR Kultuur.
- 11.Anton Hansen Tammsaare mälestusmärk. Tallinna linnaruumis asuvad kunstiteosed (Tallinn Public Art Map).
- 12.Michel Sittowi bareljeef. Tallinna linnaruumis asuvad kunstiteosed (Tallinn Public Art Map).
- 13.Monument to Kristjan Jaak Peterson. Visit Tartu.
- 14.Monument to Jakob Hurt. Visit Tartu.
- 15.Jaan Krossi skulptuur. Tallinna linnaruumis asuvad kunstiteosed (Tallinn Public Art Map).
- 16.Gallery: Statue of author Jaan Kross unveiled in Tallinn's Old Town. ERR News. 19 February 2022.
- 17.Germany's Battle Over What May Be Its Last Lenin. KPBS. 5 July 2014.
- 18.Offener Brief gegen Denkmalschutz für Schweriner Lenin-Statue. Deutschlandfunk Kultur. 30 October 2025.
- 19.Streit um Lenin-Statue in Schwerin: Eine altvertraute Debatte. taz. 9 November 2025.
- 20.De Beelden. Een Zee van Staal.
- 21.Küüditatute mälestusmärk Võru raudteejaamas. Puhka Eestis (Visit Estonia).
- 22.Nael, Merili. Põlva raudteejaama ees avati küüditatutele mälestusmärk. ERR. 14 June 2020.
- 23.Jaak Soans. Art Museum of Estonia (Digikogu).
- 24.Karjatse, Tõnu. Skulptor Jaak Soansi looming on koondatud raamatukaante vahele. ERR Kultuur. 13 December 2016.
- 25.Monographies and artist books. CCA (Centre for Contemporary Arts, Estonia) archive.
- 26.Kristjan Raua preemia laureaadid 1973–2025. Eesti Kunstnike Liit.
- 27.2013. aasta aruanne. Eesti Kultuurkapital.
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
reference work
Secondary witnessauthority record
General reference
Further particulars
Held on the record
Further particulars
Open the remaining particulars
Formation and teaching. Soans studied at Estonian Academy of Arts. Each of those relationships is stated by the authority record rather than inferred from style.
Recognition and collections
Jaak Soans received Kristjan Raud Prize, Order of the White Star, 3rd Class, People's Artist of the Estonian SSR and Merited Artist of Estonian SSR. Work by Jaak Soans is
Art Museum of Estonia
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 17 August 2026.
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