Pieter Cornelis Mondriaan

Place: Amersfoort

Born: 1872

Death: 1944

Biography:

Early Life and Influences

, known after 1911 as Piet Mondrian, was a Dutch painter and art theoretician, born on March 7, 1872, in Amersfoort, Netherlands. He is regarded as one of the greatest artists of the 20th century. Mondrian's artistic journey began with naturalistic paintings, influenced by the Dutch Impressionist manner of the Hague School.

The Evolution of Style

• Initially, Mondrian's work was characterized by representational landscapes, showcasing windmills, fields, and rivers in the style of the Dutch Impressionists.
• He later experimented with pointillism and Fauvism, leading to a search for a personal style.
• By 1908, Mondrian's work became increasingly abstract, influenced by Cubism and his encounter with the Parisian avant-garde in 1912.

Neoplasticism and Universal Beauty

Mondrian co-founded the De Stijl art movement with Theo van Doesburg, aiming to create a new kind of art for a better world. He evolved a non-representational form, which he termed Neoplasticism, seeking to express universal values and aesthetics through simple geometric elements. Key Components:**

• Three primary colors: red, blue, and yellow
• Three primary values: black, white, and gray
• Two primary directions: horizontal and vertical