Cubism, Dadaism, and Surrealism: Piet Mondrian (1872-1944)

Piet Mondrian:

Piet Mondrian was a Dutch painter who was recognized for the purity in his abstractions and the methodical practices he used to get to them. As an advocator of pure abstraction, he was also one of the founders of the Dutch modern movement, De Stijl. He believed that art reflected the underlying spirituality of nature and simplified elements of his paintings in order to show this, creating a clear universal aesthetic language on his canvases. To do this, he reduced shapes to lines and right angles, and his palette to the primary colours as well as black, white, and grey.

Mondrian also distilled representations of the world to basic vertical and horizontal elements, representing two essential forces (ex. positive vs negative, dynamic vs static, masculine vs feminine… etc.). This dynamic balance of his compositions reflected what he saw as the universal balance of these forces. His uses of asymmetrical balance and simplified pictorial elements were crucial in the development of modern art.

Mondrian’s works are certainly one in a kind. While they may seem like simple lines and shapes of colour to others, I can see the spiritual order of nature that he was dedicated to communicating. His art brings a sense of balance and I can appreciate the pure abstraction that is he is famous for.

Artworks:

Composition II in Red, Blue, and Yellow (1929) (Oil on canvas)
https://images.fineartamerica.com/images/artworkimages/mediumlarge/1/composition-ii-in-red-blue-and-yellow-digital-version-war-is-hell-store.jpg
Lozenge Composition with Yellow, Black, Blue, Red, and Gray (1921) (Oil on canvas)
https://www.piet-mondrian.org/images/paintings/lozenge-composition-with-yellow-black-blue-red-and-gray.jpg
New York City 1 (1942) (Oil on canvas)
https://www.piet-mondrian.org/images/paintings/new-york-city-1.jpg
Victory Boogie Woogie (1944) (Oil and paper on canvas)
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/87/Piet_Mondriaan_Victory_Boogie_Woogie.jpg/1200px-Piet_Mondriaan_Victory_Boogie_Woogie.jpg
Composition 10 in Black and White (1915) (Oil on canvas)
https://krollermuller.nl/media/cache/collection_item_detail_small/media/collectionitempage/tmsImage/compositie-10-in-zwart-wit-piet-mondriaan-48979-copyright-kroller-muller-museum.jpg

_

References:

  • “Piet Mondrian Overview and Analysis.” The Art Story, www.theartstory.org/artist-mondrian-piet.htm.
  • Jaffé, Hans L.C. “Piet Mondrian.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 28 Feb. 2018, www.britannica.com/biography/Piet-Mondrian.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *