Piet Mondrian - Masterpiece Curations

Looking for a homeschool artist study? Use this study and learn about Dutch artist Piet Mondrian, who was widely regarded as one of the most influential artists of the twentieth century, and of High Modernist ideals.

“Art should be above reality, otherwise it would have no value for man.” ~Piet Mondrian

These were the words proclaimed by Dutch artist Piet Mondrian (pronunciation), who is widely regarded as one of the most influential artists of the twentieth century, and of High Modernist ideals.

***Two Trees with Orange Foliage Against Blue Sky***

Born on March 7, 1872, in Amersfoort, Netherlands, Piet Mondrian (pronunciation) was involved in art even from an early age. His father was the head teacher at a primary school, and he introduced his young son to drawing. Piet’s uncle was also the pupil of a renowned artist and would often allow Piet paint with him.

It wasn’t long before Piet Mondrian also became a teacher and he began to paint regularly, eventually outgrowing it as a simple hobby.

Initially his art followed the Impressionists’ style of loose lines and indistinct imagery. But elements of Fauvism—bold, vibrant colors—began to appear. Evening; Red Tree displays the style he reached between an Impressionist and a Fauvist.

Raised a strict Protestant, Mondrian began to dig deeper into religious philosophies that said a greater knowledge lay outside of the senses. And as he continued to dig, his work took a distinctly spiritual turn toward the surreal.

Out of his own style and the new twist it had taken, he found his niche: De Stijl, a Dutch phrase meaning “The Style.” De Stijl was an art form of simplification, where the detail of the artwork is boiled down to more general shapes. This can be seen in Piet’s piece View from the Dunes with Beach and Piers.

***View from the Dunes with Beach and Piers***

Mondrian would move to Paris to study the styles of greater artists such as Pablo Picasso. He eventually changed his name from the original “Mondriaan” in order to seem more French, and he continued to grow greatly in his artistic skills.

Soon after, World War I began in 1914, and Mondrian was forced to stay in the Netherlands to avoid the conflict that swept the nations. His theory of art’s place above the senses and above reality took shape at this time, in the company of fellow artists of De Stijl.

At this time, Piet’s style changed forever, as he left behind the conventions of the art of the day in favor of the Cubist inspired abstract art. He wanted to create a “universal beauty,” and he boiled his work down to the primary colors (red, blue, and yellow), two dimensions (horizontal and vertical), and to the three primary neutrals (black, grey, and white).

He returned to France at the war’s end, where he completed his artistic journey. He had left behind the naturalistic Impressionism entirely in favor of the abstract. In Composition II in Red, Blue, and Yellow, we see his “universal beauty.”

***Composition II in Red, Blue, and Yellow***

The times would darken again, and he would leave Europe near the onset of World War II, traveling first to London, then to Manhattan, New York. He fell into a deep depression, then, and his art grew more detached from reality. He spent many hours crying himself sick or painting until his hands were blistered. On February 1, 1944, Piet Mondrian died of pneumonia.

Perhaps the greatest work of De Stijl was complete in Victory Boogie Woogie, a piece of geometric and colorful perfection—and nothing more. He was right in saying that art was deeper than reality.

Piet Mondrian: Life and Work Coppernickel Goes Mondrian (Artist Tribute)Mondrian (Basic Art Series 2.0)