Joost Baljeu
Joost Baljeu (1 November 1925 – 1 July 1991) was a Dutch painter, sculptor and writer. He is known for his large outdoor painted steel structures and his book on Theo van Doesburg.
Also recorded as Hoost Baljeu
Joost Baljeu

Joop van Bilsen for Anefo · This image has been extracted from another file · CC0
- Name
- Joost Baljeu
- Born
- 2 November 1925
- Birthplace
- Middelburg, Netherlands
- Died
- 1 July 1991
- Place of death
- Amsterdam, Netherlands
- Occupation
- Artist, author
- Known for
- Steel structures, articles on new art, books about artists
- Nationality
- Kingdom of the Netherlands
- Movements
- abstract art
- Education
- Royal Academy of Art
- Honours
- Sikkens Prize
- Languages
- Dutch
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Joost Baljeu (1 November 1925 – 1 July 1991) was a Dutch painter, sculptor and writer. He is known for his large outdoor painted steel structures and his book on Theo van Doesburg.
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Documentary evidence
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Authority files
wikidata · Q12012418 · wikipedia · Joost Baljeu
In this article
Biography
Biography
Joost Baljeu studied at Royal Academy of Art. The recorded working language is Dutch. Places of work recorded in the authority are Middelburg, Bussum and Amsterdam. Work by Joost Baljeu is recorded in the collections of Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Museum of Modern Art, Centraal Museum, Rijksmuseum Twenthe and CODA Museum. Distinctions recorded are Sikkens Prize.
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Joost Baljeu • Born — 2 November 1925 • Birthplace — Middelburg, Netherlands • Died — 1 July 1991 • Place of death — Amsterdam, Netherlands • Occupation — Artist, author • Known for — Steel structures, articles on new art, books about artists
Life
Life
Joost Baljeu was born in Middelburg on 1 November 1925. During World War II (1939–45) he began painting in an expressionist, realistic and semi-abstract idiom. After Cubism he evolved to constructivism. He made his first reliefs in 1954-55. From 1957 to 1972 he was a professor at the Royal Academy of Art, The Hague in the Hague. The Canadian artist Eli Bornstein began to make three-dimensional "structurist" reliefs during a sabbatical in Italy and the Netherlands in 1957. He met and was influenced by artists such as Jean Gorin, Anthony Hill, Kenneth Martin, Mary Martin, Victor Pasmore and Georges Vantongerloo. In 1958-59 Baljeu was a guest lecturer at the University of Saskatchewan in Canada. In 1966 he was visiting professor at the Minneapolis School of Art in the US. He died on 1 July 1991 in Amsterdam.
Work
Work
• Illustration — Space Time I in Rotterdam
Exhibitions
Exhibitions
• 1965 Zonnehof, Amersfoort • 1975/1976 Gemeentemuseum, The Hague • 1979 Kröller-Müller Museum, Otterlo • 1991 Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam • 2000 Steel in Picture (group) in Old Slot Heemstede: F19 (model 1986/87)
Museums
Museums
• The Mondriaan House in Amersfoort • Kröller-Müller Museum in Otterlo. Two works are part of the museum: • Synthetic Construction F5-2 CD (1966/68) and • Synthetic Construction F15 No. 1. (1983/87), • The Sculpture F26 1990 was donated to the museum in 1991 by Baljeu's widow.
Public spaces
Public spaces
• Illustration — Synthetic construction F8-1B, The Hague • Lightning (1955), Wijkcentrum Open Vaart, Meidoornplein in Amsterdam-Noord • Synthetic construction F8-1B (1978), Plesmanweg, The Hague • Wall sculpture (1980), police Burg. Wegstapel Square in Zoetermeer (architectural design of colored plexiglass panels in a two-story aluminum construction) • Synthetic construction F11 (1981), courtyard Vest in Dordrecht - reinstated in 1999 • Synthetic construction F13 (1984), Avenue of the United Nations in Dordrecht - reinstated in 1999 • F26 (1990) in the sculpture park of the Kröller-Müller Museum in Otterlo • Spacetime (I) (1989) in Rotterdam, Prince Alexander district • Spacetime II (restored in 2004) in Rotterdam, Prince Alexander
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 2 entries
1925
Joost Baljeu born at Middelburg.
1991
Joost Baljeu died at Amsterdam.
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
Middelburg.
Birth place
Amsterdam.
Death place
Publications
• Mondrian or Miró (1958): book published by De Beuk, Amsterdam • Structure (1958-1964): editor of a journal on new art • Attempt at a theory of synthesist plastic expression (1963): book published by Alec Tiranti, London • Theo van Doesburg (1974): book published by Studio Vista, London
Primary material
Documents and archives
reference work
- “Joost Baljeu”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
authority record
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q12012418: Joost Baljeu
General reference · Wikidata
References
Citations
References
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reference work
Secondary witnessauthority record
General reference
Further particulars
Held on the record
Further particulars
Open the remaining particulars
Joost Baljeu received Sikkens Prize. Recorded as painter, sculptor, writer, architect and draftsperson.
Recognition and collections
Work by Joost Baljeu is
Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Museum of Modern Art, Centraal Museum and Rijksmuseum Twenthe
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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