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mondrian
Piet Mondrian played a majorrole in the
developmentofabstractartduring the
firsthalfofthe 20th century. Asthe
moving spiritof De Stijl, the mostaustere
ofall abstractionistmovements,
Mondrian developed and carried out his
idea ofartalmostin isolation heowed
;
littletoanyotherartistorschool of
painting.The puregeometrical worksof
his maturestyle, often composed
entirelyofsquaresofvivid reds and
yellowscarefullybalanced with areasof
white and intersected byvertical or
horizontal lines, arethe directexpression
of his belief—in an artfreedfrom
subjectivity an artthatwasthe
expression ofa universal unchangeable
truth.
Born in Holland in 1 892, hestudied at
theAcademyofAmsterdam, where itwas
inevitablethat heshould haveabsorbed
someofthe great Dutch artistictradition,
the influenceofwhich can be seen in
hisearly, ratherlyrical landscapes.
However, even in thisearlywork his
preoccupation with geometricforms is
evident he made much use ofthe play
;
ofhorizontals andverticals and of
symmetrical arrangements.When, in '
1 91 2, Mondrian settled in Paris, hecame
intoclosecontactwiththe Cubist
painters, an experiencewhich ledto his
completeandfinal rejection ofnatural
forms. In theAbstract ^"hism of Picasso
and Braque hefound some promise of
theordered expression ofthe universe
which hesought, though hewassoon
togofarbeyond Cubismto evolve his
—
ownentirelyabstractstyle the product
ofdeepthoughtand an entirely
personal vision.
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PROPERTYOF
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SANTA NEWMEMO
mondrian
twentieth-century masters
mondrian
Italo Tomassoni
Hamlyn
London New York Sydney Toronto
twentieth-centurymasters
Generaleditors: H. L.JafFéand A. Busignani
©
Copyrightin thetext Sadea/Sansoni, Florence, 1969
CopyrightthiseditionThe Hamlyn PublishingGroupLimited 1970
London • New York • Sydney Toronto
Hamlyn House, Feltham, Middlesex, England
ISBN o 600 35925 5
Colourlithography: Zincotipia Moderna,Florence
Printingandbinding: Cox& WymanLimited
London, FakenhamandReading
DistributedintheUnitedStatesofAmericabyCrownPublishersInc.
contents
List of illustrations 6
Pure abstraction 7
The principles and premises of De Stijl 7
Mondrian and Neoplasticism 8
Neoplasticism and De Stijl 12
Neoplasticism in architecture 15
The Bauhaus and Concrete Art 17
Mondrian's poetics 19
Mondrian's formal analytics 23
The Natural image 26
The Trees Cycle 28
The Cubist period 29
Schoenmaekers: the Positive Mysticism 31
The Nieuwe Beelding 33
The phenomenology of Neoplasticism 42
The American epilogue 46
Colour plates 48
Description of colour plates 90
Biographical notes 92
Chronological catalogue of works 93
Bibliography 96
3 12 43 12 3 9 7 2 1 7 2 1
List of colour illustrations List of black-and-white illustrations
i Woods with Stream, 1880 1 Two Marigolds, 1907 page 9
2 Landscape, undated 2 Chrysanthemum, 1908 10
3 Landscapenear Amsterdam, c. 1902 3 The Red Cloud, 1907-9 11
4 Farm at Nistelrode, c. 1904 4 Dunes, c. 1909 13
5 Evening Landscape, c. 1904 5 Church Towerat Domburg, c. 1909 14
6 Trees, before 1908 6 Church Towerat Domburg, c. 1909 16
7 Trees, before 1908 7 Woods, c. 1910 17
8 Dune, c. 1910 8 Dune, c. 1910 18
9 Lighthouseat Westkapelle, c. 1910 9 The Red Tree, 1909-10 19
io Windmill in the Sun, c. 191 10 Self-portrait, c. 191 21
ii The Grey Tree, 191 11 Composition with Trees, c. 1912 23
12 Flowering Apple Tree, c. 191 12 Composition No. 3, 1912-13 24
13 Flowering Trees, 191 13 Landscape with Trees, c. 1912 25
H
Still-'.ije with Gingcrpot II, 1912 14 Composition with Grey andBlue, c. 1912 27
15 Composition No. 11, c. 1912 15 Nude, c. 191 28
16 Tableau I, 1912-1 16 Still-life with Gingerpot I, 191 29
17 Oval Composition, 191 17 The Sea, c. 1914 31
[8-19 Composition with Blue, Grey and Pink, 191 18 Church Facade, 1914 32
20 Oval Composition with Bright Colours, 1914 19 Composition No. 6, 1914 33
21 Oval Composition, 191 20 Church Facade, c. 1914 34
22 Composition with Grey and Yellow, 1914 21 Oval Composition, Tableau III, 1914 35
23 Composition No. j, 1914 22 Composition with Lines, 1917 36
24 Composition with Colour Planes on White GroundA, 191 23 Composition in Blue B, 191 37
25 Composition: Bright Colours with Grey Lines, 1919 24 Composition with Colour Planes, 1917 38
26 Chequerboard Composition with Dark Colours, 191 25 Self-portrait, 1918 39
27 Tableau I, 1921 26 Chequerboard Composition with Bright Colours, 1919 40
28 Composition, 1921 27 Composition with Red, Yellow andBlue, 1922 41
29 Composition with Red, Yellow andBlue, 1921 28 Composition with Red, Black and White, 193 42
30 Composition with Red, Yellow and Blue, 1921 29 Broadway Boogie-Woogie, c. 1943 43
31 Composition with Red, Yellow andBlue, 1921 30 Drawing for Victory Boogie-Woogie, 1943-4 44
32 Tableau No. 2, 1921-5 31 Victory Boogie-Woogie, 1943-4 45
33 Composition, 1922 32 Piet Mondrian in 1937 92
34 Composition with Black and Blue, 1926
35 Composition with Red, Yellow andBlue, 1927
36 Tableau-Poème 1928
,
37 Composition with Yellow and Blue, 1929
38 Composition with Red, Blueand Yellow, 1930
39 Composition with Blue, 1935
40 Composition, 1935
4i Composition III: Blue and Yellow, 1936
42 Composition with RedandBlack, 1936
43 Composition with Red, Yellow andBlue, 1936-43
44 Composition with Yellow and Red, 1938-43
45 Composition with Red, 1939
46 Unfinished Composition with Red, Yellow andBlue, 1939-44
47 New York City, 1942
