Piet Mondrian

Evolution

Many know the painter Piet Mondrian (1872–1944) as the creator of strict geometric compositions with black and white lines and fields of color in red, yellow, or blue. That the Dutchman chose landscapes and other representational motifs in the first decades of his career and often staged these with surprising colorfulness is hardly known.

In its exhibition, the Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen presents Mondrian’s path from the early naturalistic paintings to the late abstract works and, in the K+ Digital Guide, traces in depth the connections between Mondrian’s artistic style and the historical context, his encounters and friendships, as well as music and the rhythm associated with it. Learn more about Piet Mondrian along the four tracks.

1885

1907

1885 — 1907

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The Beginning of an Artistic Evolution

Amsterdam, 1894. After his studies, Piet Mondrian leads the life of a young, aspiring artist, painting in the naturalistic style of the Hague School. His friendship with Simon Maris opens new doors for him on the Dutch art scene. In 1904, Mondrian moves to the village of Uden, where he concentrates on rural motifs. They illustrate the important role rhythm plays in his pictorial compositions. The early landscapes are the basis for Mondrian’s entire oeuvre; they mark the beginning of his artistic “evolution.”

ca. 1897
Farmhouse with Clothesline

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1908

1911

1908 — 1911

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Painterly Experiments

Mondrian’s departure from academic painting is influenced by several factors. On the one hand, there is Impressionism, and on the other hand, the mystical, religious approaches of Theosophy, with which he had been preoccupied since 1900. His friendship with Jacoba van Heemskerck and Marie Tak van Poortvliet inspire him to experiment with the transfer of spiritual natural philosophy into painting. Mondrian’s color palette brightens, his brushwork becomes more expressive, free, and sketchy. It is no longer the motif itself but the way he paints it that comes to the fore.

1909
Beach with Five Piers at Domburg

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1911

1914

1911 — 1914

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The Search for Abstraction in an Art Metropolis

Life in Paris is pulsating. The French capital inspires artists, musicians, writers, and philosophers. Piet Mondrian also spends the years between 1911 and 1914 in Paris. He is fascinated by Cubism, which gives new impetus to his artistic goal of complete abstraction from the object. Above all, gray and ocher tones now determine the overall impression of the paintings, and the line as such becomes increasingly important.

1908
Metamorphosis [Bloem (Flower): Dying Chrysanthemum]

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1914

1920

1914 — 1920

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Backwards with Progress

When World War I breaks out in August 1914, Mondrian is traveling in the Netherlands. He is unable to return to Paris. In the region around Domburg, he again devotes himself to motifs such as church façades, jetties, and the movement of the waves in the sea, experimenting with a reduction of form and color.

The abstraction of the motif through a perfect combination of form and function is also the goal of the “De Stijl” movement founded in 1917 by Mondrian, Theo van Doesburg, and other artists. During this period, which he spends mainly in Laren, Mondrian shares his passion for the pleasurable lifestyle with Salomon Bernard “Sal” Slijper. He not only accompanies Mondrian as a friend, but also supports him financially by purchasing numerous works in the following years.

1917
Cover image of the first issue of the periodical De Stijl

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1920

1944

1920 — 1944

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Exile, Emigration, and “Music of the Future”

Mondrian’s paintings consist essentially of black, vertical and horizontal lines, as well as surfaces in white, red, yellow, and blue. In 1020, he publishes a first theoretical justification of his Neoplasticism in the magazine De Stijl.

When Mondrian emigrates to New York in September 1940, his style changes yet again. The rhythm of the big city, with its tempo, its bars and clubs, as well as his friendships with Charmion von Wiegand and Peggy Guggenheim, influence Piet Mondrian and his artistic work.

18th September 1957
Peggy Guggenheim, in front of a painting by Piet Mondrian

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1920

1944

1920 — 1944

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The Beat of Piet

Piet Mondrian is an avid dancer. He loves boogie-woogie and jazz, collects records, and never misses an opportunity to dance the night away in hip clubs in Amsterdam, Paris, and New York. Beat and rhythm accompany Mondrian throughout his life and, above all, shape his artistic work.

In the action room set up especially for the exhibition, visitors are invited to creatively help embellish the walls and floor using adhesive tape and thus create a walk-in collective work. While doing so, they hear a selection of music from Mondrian’s record collection in the action room. #DerBeatVonPiet

early 1943
Fritz Glarner, Piet Mondrian in his studio, 353 East 56th Street in New York

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