Jan Meine Jansen was a son of Wolter Jansen, waiter in Meppel, and Jentje Meinen. He attended the Rijksnormaalschool voor Teekenwijzers (1928-1933), where he obtained the MO-akte A and B for drawing. He was then a pupil of Heinrich Campendonk at the Rijksacademie (1934-1938), both in Amsterdam. He was married to Johanna Helène Frederika Nengerman (1912-2004).
He painted and made gouaches, especially figure studies, (Drenthe) landscapes, portraits and still lifes. As a monumental artist he also made murals and designed stained glass and concrete windows. From the sixties the work became more abstract and from the seventies onwards he made glass appliqués, which made other colours and shapes possible. With the exception of Berend Hendriks, Campendonk's pupils had their glass work executed in large studios. The work Meine Jansen was carried out in the Atelier Bogtman in Haarlem.
Meine Jansen was a member of Arti et Amicitiae, the Vereeniging Sint Lucas and the Drents Schildersgenootschap. He exhibited several times and his work was included in the collections of the Centraal Museum, Rijksmuseum Amsterdam and the Drents Museum, among others. In 1987 and 2015 an exhibition of his work was shown in the Drents Museum.
Meine Jansen died in 1994, at the age of 86, and was buried in Doorn.
