Contents
Piet Mondrian
Creating abstract grids of black lines and primary colours.
Composition No. 10 · Composition with Red, Blue and Yellow
- Born
- 7 March 1872
- Birthplace
- Amersfoort, Netherlands
- Died
- 1 February 1944
More people
Piet Mondrian
Piet Mondrian was a Dutch painter who moved from landscapes towards a radically reduced visual language. He sought balance through verticals, horizontals and carefully weighted areas of colour.
Early life
Art in the family
Learned drawing from his father and received guidance from his uncle, a painter.
Amsterdam training
Studied at the Rijksakademie and initially painted recognisable landscapes and still lifes.
Career
- 1890s–1900s
Dutch painter
Developed a professional practice through landscape and other subjects.
- 1911–1914
Paris and Cubism
Encountered Cubism and increasingly simplified his forms.
- 1917 onward
De Stijl
Helped shape the movement’s ideas about abstraction.
- 1940–1944
New York
Moved to the United States and developed a livelier late style.
Selected work
Composition No. 10
Sea and pier forms reduced to a network of marks.
Composition with Red, Blue and Yellow
Primary colours balanced within a black grid.
Broadway Boogie Woogie
A bright pattern evoking movement and musical rhythm.
Beyond work
Writing about art
Published essays explaining his ideas of Neo-Plasticism.
Music and dance
Loved jazz and dancing, interests reflected in his late New York paintings.
Sources & photo credit
Life and career ↗Institutional or specialist reference ↗Photo: Anonymous Unknown author. Public domain · Original image. Cropped and displayed in monochrome.
