A Very Brief Introduction to the Utopian
Vision of Piet Mondrian and de Stijl
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| Mondrian:
Composition (Tree), 1913 |
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| Mondrian:
Devotion, 1908 |
Mondrian:
Dying Chrysanthemum, 1908 |
These early paintings show the influence
of theosophy on Mondrian's symbolism. The theosophic belief in the
unity of dualities remains in his later paintings where it is present in
an implicit and abstract manner.
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| Mondrian:
Evolution (a triptych), 1911 |
Mondrian's Evolution
His earliest paintings are generally
realist landscapes with static compositions and the use of opaque colors.
After his encounter with fauvism and his study of the Dutch avant-garde
(Van Gogh, in particular), his colors become increasinly pure and less
naturalistic. His next change reflects his awareness of cubism.
The faceted exploration of subject matter and the language of painting
is of less interest to him than the architectonic grid in the analytic
cubist paintings of Picasso and Braque around 1912 and 13. His own
paintings begin to demonstrate more centralized compositions, greater use
of linearity, and a sense of expansion from a central focus.
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| Mondrian:
Lighthouse in West Kapelle, 1907 |
Mondrian:
Red Tree, 1908 |
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| Mondrian:
Windmill, 1911 |
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| Mondrian:
Grey Tree, 1912 |
Mondrian:
Blossoming Apple Tree, 1912 |
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| Mondrian:
Composition in Oval (Tableau III), 1914 |
Mondrian:
Composition in Oval, 1914 |
Other Dutch artists were moving
in similar directions by the end of World War I; their developments toward
an abstract language influence Mondrian's search and come together in the
development of de Stijl.
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| Van der
Leck: The Storm, 1916 |
van Doesburg:
The Card Players, 1916-17 |
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| van Doesburg:
Abstraction of Card Players, Comp. IX, 1917 |
van Doesburg:
color sketch for stained glass window for villa, comp. V, 1918 |
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| Mondrian:
Composition in Red, Yellow and Blue, 1921 |
Mondrian:
Composition in Red, Blue and Yellow, 1930 |
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| Mondrian:
Lozenge, 1921 |
The sources of de Stijl:
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from cubism: the reduction of form
to geometric elements (note that this was not the goal of cubism but it
was how Mondrian and the de Stijl artists chose to understand and use it)
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from art nouveau and symbolism: the
flat, mural quality of paintings and design with the emphasis on the surface;
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from Van der Leck: a desire for an
objective language of art
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from Kandinsky and theosophy: a relationship
of spirituality to abstract form
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from philosophy: the belief that forms
and color can express "liberation" of the spirit; art should move and would
move away from sensuality and materiality towards spirituality (this is
also the influence of Kandinsky)
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from mysticism: the belief that numbers
can express purity; the belief that the outcome precedes actuality in a
conceptual manner; the conceptualization leads to style and style becomes
reality; in addition to this belief, revelation is central to mystical
philosophy: this means that the spiritual and philosophical act of contemplation
allows the subsequent recognition of reality in a form which is consistent
with the goals of mysticism
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| Reitveld-Schroeder
House, interior view, upper level, 1924 |
exterior
view of the Schoeder House |
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| the red-and-blue
chair, designed by Gerrit Reitveld, 1918-23 |
Mondrian:
Composition with Yellow, Red and Blue, 1927 |
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| interior
view of Schroeder House |
Mondrian:
Composition in Red, Yellow and Blue, 1921 |
Ultimately, for the De Stijl artists
and architects the machine is equated with art, universality, and an almost
spiritual response. The ideal architecture will have no decoration, will
be a "complete space-creating organism" in which the presence of ornamentation
would only serve to limit its universality, and to individualize the space
in a way that defies the universal essence of space.
To summarize the aesthetic goals
and principles of the De Stijl artists we have a set of beliefs which above
all share a remarkable similarity to the philosophical and spiritual beliefs
of Kandinsky:
1) art was always evolving toward
a fuller expression of its spiritual essence, a liberation from nature
so that it could become a free and true expression of the human spirit;
2) art involved the evolution away
from impressionism, away from the need to represent something. Cubism
played an essential role in this evolution by focusing not on the natural
forms of an object but on the plastic elements of objects;
3) the artist was obligated to
awaken the public to a new sense of beauty;
4) the individual vision of the
everyday world had to be excluded from art precisely because it prevented
the creation of art;
5) the ultimate goal of de Stijl,
as the name implies, was not the creation of an individual object but the
creation of style. The fundamental elements of this style were line,
plane and color, or the essential plastic means of art, and the interrelationships
existing between them. Form was not one of these elements.
The new art, according to Mondrian, would be an art which focused on the
pure manifestation of line and color through neutral or universal forms.
Rhythm would dominate this art, a rhythm which would come from the opposition
of the vertical to the horizontal, or through concentric curved lines.
Mondrian preferred the first which signified to him a rhythm of cadence,
something he called purely plastic in its expression. The rhythm
of curved lines was a rhythm of undulation and therefore remained linked
to nature;
6) this style would emerge from
an equilibrium of opposing forces; because an equilibrium attained through
opposing forces has the effect of cancelling out those forces, this equilibrium
would lead to utopia; in essence, these artists are saying that art paves
the way for the new utopian world.
This is a movement which participates
in the early 20th century exaltation of the machine and mechanization.
If life is more automatic, as a result of machines, then less thought is
necessary for everyday life and life can become more spiritual. But this
spiritual world is one which is abstracted, engineered, and one in which
the collective is more important than the individual. In this respect,
the opposition between horizontals and verticals is a metaphoric expression
for collectivity and the denial of individuality.
Mondrian departs from the de Stijl
group and moves to New York City before WWII.
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| Mondrian:
Broadway Boogie Woogie, 1942-3 |