The Dutch artist and painter Piet Mondrian is one of the most famous abstract artists in history. Born in Amersfoort, Netherlands in 1872, his artistic career spanned over 50 years and his work has been a great influence on modern art. One of Mondrian’s renowned paintings is titled “Composition With Color Planes And Gray Lines 1”, created in 1918. This painting currently resides at the Gemeentemuseum in The Hague, Netherlands and stands at 49.5cm x 60cm as part of the permanent collection there.
This composition reflects ‘De Stijl’ or ‘neo-plasticism’, a form of abstract art developed by Mondrian that explores a relationship between harmony and balance using geometric shapes, vibrant colours and contours. This painting features dynamic primary colours such as blue, red, yellow, orange and black that create harmony amidst sharp linear patterns – a high point of neo-plasticism. This work primarily reflects his vision of interrelated geometrical forms to express spiritual truths which he believed had great potential for aesthetic expression.
“Composition No. Ii; Composition In Line And Color” was also produced by Piet Mondrian around 1913 following his experimentation with curve lines in contrast to linear straight line contours. This painting employs pale tones from the colour spectrum to create varying size planes outlined by faint yet significant black lines that perfectly sync its elements together. This composition explores Mondrian’s spiritual search for harmony through balanced composition – making it an iconic representation of modern abstract art today.
