Exactly one hundred years ago, De Stijl movement, also known as neoplasticism, was born. It was also the birthday of one of its principal members, Piet Mondrian, just one week ago. A century later, the movement is still present in our everyday life and culture, visible in our architecture, design and art. This week, we have this Mondrian up for auction! Let's look back on one of the most recognisable and influential art movements in history.
In samenwerking met Anita Helmy - expert moderne kunst
Post-impressionistic inspiration
The impressionist revolutionary perception of painting resulted in a bundle of new art movements in the early 20th century. In the Netherlands there was also an interest for this new art, but because of World War I, in which the Netherlands remained neutral, Dutch artists couldn’t leave the country, leaving them isolated from the international art world.
It was in that time that painter (and writer/poet/critic) Theo van Doesburg began searching for other artists to set up a journal and start an art movement. Around 1915 he started meeting the artists who would eventually become the founders of the journal, starting with Piet Mondrian. They met eachother at an exhibition in Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam. Mondrian had been living in Paris, but stayed in the Netherlands when the war broke out. He was staying at the artists’ community of Laren, where he met M. H. J. Schoenmaekers, the writer of Het Nieuwe Wereldbeeld (“The New Image of the World”) and later Beginselen der Beeldende Wiskunde (“Principles of Plastic Mathematics”), publications that would have an enormous influence on Mondrian and the other members of the movement.
Laying down the principles
In the first eleven issues of the journal, Mondrian published his long essay Neo Plasticism in Pictorial Art in which he wrote the following:
“As a pure representation of the human mind, art will express itself in an aesthetically purified, that is to say, abstract form. The new plastic idea cannot therefore, take the form of a natural or concrete representation – this new plastic idea will ignore the particulars of appearance, that is to say, natural form and colour. On the contrary it should find its expression in the abstraction of form and colour, that is to say, in the straight line and the clearly defined primary colour.” - Piet Mondrian
This idea became the principle of the movement, resulting in the memorable image of a black grid with red, blue, yellow and white squares. It is very interesting how clearly it is to see the shift in Mondrian's vision through his work. He famously painted trees over and over again, becoming more abstract every time until all that was left, were vertical and horizontal lines.
Left: Mondrian: The Red Tree (1908-1910) / Right: Mondrian: Blossoming Apple Tree (1912)
The Break-Up
After 1921 other movements started influencing the group, mainly work from the suprematist painter Malevich and Russian Constructivism. Not every member from the group agreed with this. In 1924, van Doesburg proposed the theory of elementarism: suggesting that a diagonal line is more vital than horizontal and vertical ones. Naturally, this went one step too far for Mondrian and he left the group, although the many new “members” of Dadaist influences (I.K. Bonset and Aldo Camini) also played a part. After the death of Theo van Doesburg, the group dissolved. It then also became apparent that the new Dadaist members Bonset & Camini were both pseudonyms of Theo van Doesburg.
The impact of the movement
The movement of De Stijl still influences modern artists. One of the most famous examples is ofcourse the Mondrian Dress by Yves Saint Laurent, from 1966. Earlier, in the 1930s, Lola Prusac had designed a range of luggage and bags inspired by the works of Mondrian for Hermes. In 2000, The White Stripes released their album called De Stijl, the cover featuring both members of the band between a number of geometric shapes and lines.
At Catawiki, the influence of the famous movement is also clearly present: from modern spins on Mondrian’s work to stained glass in the style of De Stijl. If you are interested in modern art, keep an eye on our modern art auction. Don't forget to check out the Mondrian! You could also sell your stuff, by signing up here.