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1885

1907

1885 — 1907

Connection through Rhythm

Painting, music, and rhythm form a close connection in the work of Piet Mondrian.

To explain his art as well as the theory of Neoplasticism, Mondrian repeatedly uses the term “rhythm.” For him, rhythm can be expressed not only in music and dance, but also in the visual arts. For the visualization of rhythm, which can be seen throughout his entire oeuvre, Mondrian deliberately uses recurring shapes and colors that structure the pictorial surface, as in the early painting “Geinrust Farm in the Mist” (1906–1907).

1906 — 1907
Geinrust Farm in the Mist

In the late neoplastic works, this can be traced in the tension-filled and never symmetrical compositions. For example, if one looks more closely at “Rhythm of Straight Lines / Composition with Blue, Red, and Yellow” (1937/1942), the viewer’s eye begins to dance along the lines: From right to left, sometimes it speeds up, sometimes the gaze slows down or begins to zoom in or out. Seeing becomes a rhythmic experience.

1937 — 1942
Rhythm in Straight Lines [Rythme de lignes droites (et couleur?) / Composition with Blue, Red, and Yellow]

1908

1911

1908 — 1911

Video Caro Verbeek

Caro Verbeek is curator for the artistic position of Piet Mondrian and the De Stijl movement at the Kunstmuseum Den Haag (NL).

1911

1914

1911 — 1914

Music of the Future

For Mondrian, music and visual art are future-oriented forms of expression.

The artist is absolutely passionate about jazz - he listens to this music in his free time, as well as during his artistic work in the studio. Jazz, which had freed itself from numerous musical conventions, is characterized by improvisation and syncopation (deviating beat from the “correct” flow of rhythm).

  • early 1943
    Fritz Glarner, Piet Mondrian in his studio, 353 East 56th Street in New York
  • February 1944
    Fritz Glarner, The studio of Piet Mondrian after his death, New York
  • early 1943
    Fritz Glarner, Piet Mondrian in his studio, 353 East 56th Street in New York

In his text “De jazz en de Neo-plastiek” (Jazz and Neoplasticism, 1927), Mondrian brings jazz together with the character of Neoplasticism. Both focalize unexpected accents and rhythmic tension.

1914

1920

1914 — 1920

Everything is in Motion

When the Charleston becomes known in Europe in the 1920s and gives rise to indignation in the press, the enthusiastic dancer Mondrian positions himself publicly.

In 1926, he declares to the correspondent of the Amsterdam newspaper “De Telegraaf”: “How can this sporting dance be banned! After all, the dancers keep a measured distance from each other, and they have to work so energetically that there is no time to think of love. If this prohibition is maintained, that is sufficient reason for me never to set foot in this country again.” [Quoted in German in: Michel Seuphor, “Piet Mondrian, Leben und Werk” (Cologne 1957), p. 170]. Here, it becomes quite clear what enormous significance dancing has for Piet Mondrian.

Boogie-Woogie Dance

1920

1944

1920 — 1944

The Clubs in New York

After Mondrian arrives in New York, his friend Harry Holtzman takes him to the Café Society.

The legendary jazz club has two locations in New York. One opens in Greenwich Village in 1938, and the second club is just around the corner from Mondrian’s studio. Café Society is a meeting place for music lovers, but also for left-wing intellectuals and artists. Mondrian goes there to listen to the latest boogie-woogie music.

  • ca. March 1947
    William P. Gottlieb, Portrait of Gene Sedric, Cliff Jackson, Olivette Miller and Josh White, Café Society (Downtown), New York, N.Y.
  • ca. February 1947
    William P. Gottlieb, Portrait of Billie Holiday, Downbeat, New York, N.Y.
  • between 1946 and 1948
    William P. Gottlieb, Portrait of Billie Holiday, Carnegie Hall, New York, N.Y.
  • between 1946 and 1948
    William P. Gottlieb, Portrait of Al Casey and Eddie (Emmanuel) Barefield, Café Society (Downtown), New York, N.Y.
  • ca. June 1947
    William P. Gottlieb, Portrait of Ted Kelly, Kenny Kersey, Benny Fonville, (Scoville) Toby Browne and Buck Clayton, Café Society (Downtown), New York, N.Y.
  • ca. June 1947
    William P. Gottlieb, Portrait of Kenny Kersey, Café Society (Downtown), New York, N.Y.

Café Society Downtown is one of the rare places that defies segregation. There, Black and white patrons spend time together, sitting side by side and listening to both Black and white performers. Famous musicians, such as singer Billie Holiday, the boogie-woogie pianist Albert Ammons, and many others perform there.

Creative Studio

Creative Studio

Contribution by Robert O’Meally