PIET MONDRIAN, his quotes on painting art and De Stijl / Style artist-group + biography & life facts
Piet Mondrian, his art quotes on painting and biography facts of the Dutch artist. Mondrian started as young painter in Impressionism; he was landscape painter from origin; It was after 1912 in Paris that he got strongly influenced by early French Cubism of Picasso and Braque. He became – together with Theo van Doesburg – engaged in discovering and reflecting the basic ideas of a fundamentally new abstract art, as published in ‘De Stijl’ publications. At the bottom more biography facts and some useful art links for Piet Mondrian and De Stijl. – the editor.
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Mondrian: ‘Composition in Red, Blue and Yellow’, 1930 |
Piet Mondrian, art quotes on painting, color & composition – artist of the De Stijl / Neo-Plasticism + biography
- …I believe that in our period (1909, remark on his painting ‘Devotion’ of a devotedly looking girl, fh) it is definitely necessary that, as far as possible, the paint is applied in pure colours set next to each other in a pointillist or diffuse manner. This is stated strongly, and yet it relates to the idea which is the basis of meaningful expression in form, as I see it. It seems to me that the clarity of ideas should be accompanied by a clarity of technique…
* source, famous Dutch people life quotes: a letter to Israel Querido, Summer of 1909; as quoted in “Mondrian, -The Art of Destruction”, Carel Blotkamp, Reaktion Books LTD. London 2001, p. 35. ( great Dutch artist and painter Piet Mondrian; his inspirational quotations about life & creating early abstract painting; De Stijl group / Neo-Plasticism)
- For the present at least (1909,fh) I shall restrict my work to the ordinary world of the senses, since that is the world in which we still live. But nevertheless art van even now form a transition to the finer regions, which perhaps I am incorrect in calling spiritual, for everything that has form is not yet spiritual, as I read somewhere. But it is nonetheless the path of ascension away from matter. Well dear Querido, with many heartfelt wishes, Piet Mondriaan.
* source, famous Dutch people life quotes: a letter to Israel Querido, Summer of 1909; as quoted in “Mondrian, -The Art of Destruction”, Carel Blotkamp, Reaktion Books LTD. London 2001, p. 36.
- He (Jan Toorop, an older and famous Dutch catholic painter, fh) sees the Catholic faith as A. Besant (Annie Besant, a prominent Theosophiste and women’s right Activiste, fh) views it in its primeval period: the Catholic religion as it was originally is the same as Theosophy, is it not? I remained broadly in agreement with Toorop, and I could tell that he goes to the depths, and that he is searching for the spiritual.
* source, famous Dutch people life quotes: a letter to Spoor, Domburg October 1910; Van Ginneken and Joosten, op. cit. (note 26), pp. 263; as quoted in “Mondrian, -The Art of Destruction”, Carel Blotkamp, Reaktion Books LTD. London 2001, p. 47.
- Masculine and feminine, vertical and horizontal. (a written note, beneath a drawing in Mondrian’s sketchbook, 1910/11, fh))
* source, famous Dutch people life quotes: ’’Abstract Painting’’, Michel Seuphor, Dell Publishing Co.,1964, p. 11.
- The surface of things gives enjoyment, their interiority gives life. ( a written note in his sketchbook, around 1911, fh)
* source, famous Dutch people life quotes: ’’Abstract Painting’’, Michel Seuphor, Dell Publishing Co., 1964 p. 11.
- You must have heard that last autumn I almost got married, but I am glad I realized in time that it had been an illusion, all those beautiful things. Although I have always lived for art, I am also attracted to the beautiful in life and so I sometimes do things that seem strange for me.
* source, famous Dutch people life quotes: a letter to Alleta de Jongh, Paris Spring 1912; as quoted in “Mondrian, -The Art of Destruction”, Carel Blotkamp, Reaktion Books LTD. London 2001, p. 243, note 61.
- If the masc. (masculine, fh) is the vertic. (vertical, fh) line, then a man will recognize this element in the rising line of a forest; in the horizont. (horizontal, fh) lines of the sea he will see his complement. Woman, with the horizont. line as element, sees herself in the recumbent lines of the sea, and her complement in the vert. lines of the forest. (his remark on his two paintings ‘Sea’ and ‘Trees’, both made in 1912, fh)
* source, famous Dutch people life quotes: note in his sketchbook; as quoted in “Mondrian, -The Art of Destruction”, Carel Blotkamp, Reaktion Books LTD. London 2001, p. 70.
- The principle of this art (his own options for modern art, fh) is not a negation of matter, but a great love of matter, whereby it is seen in the highest, most intense manner possible, and depicted in the artistic creation.
* source, famous Dutch people life quotes: in his sketchbook II 1912/13; as quoted in “Mondrian, -The Art of Destruction”, Carel Blotkamp, Reaktion Books LTD. London 2001, p. 78.
- We arrive at a portrayal of other things, such as the laws governing matter. These are the great generalities – Which do not change.
* source, famous Dutch people life quotes: note in his sketchbook II 1912/13; as quoted in “Mondrian, -The Art of Destruction”, Carel Blotkamp, Reaktion Books LTD. London 2001, p. 79.
- A form must be of its own time if it is to be recognized: one cannot relate to what one is not or does not have – Thus all that is of the past is to be rejected.
* source, famous Dutch people life quotes: note in one of his Paris sketchbooks; as quoted in “Mondrian, -The Art of Destruction”, Carel Blotkamp, Reaktion Books LTD. London 2001, p. 75.
- It is clear to me that this is art for the future. Futurism, although it has advanced beyond naturalism, occupies itself too much with human sensations. Cubism – which in its content is still too much concerned with earlier aesthetic products, and thus less rooted in its own time than Futurism – Cubism has taken a giant step in the direction of abstraction, and is in this respect of its own time and of the future. Thus in its content it is not modern, but in its effect it is.
* source, famous Dutch people life quotes: a letter to the Dutch art critic and buyer of Mondrians paintings, H. P. Bremmer Paris 29 January 1914; as quoted in “Mondrian, -The Art of Destruction”, Carel Blotkamp, Reaktion Books LTD. London 2001, p. 77.
- You write you could never be a Theosophist. Well I suppose I could say the same thing, if you’re referring to what most theosophists are. But that does not alter the fact that I believe that the principles of theosophy are true, and that it leads to clarity in one’s spiritual development. Which means that we (Mondrian and the Catholic painter and his former teacher Schelfhout, after their reconciliation, fh) quite agree on this point. Self-awareness is, in my view, of crucial importance to all human beings. I can understand how the Catholic doctrine may lead to vagueness, but Theosophy, which is a spiritual science, can never do so.
* source, famous Dutch people life quotes: a letter to the Dutch artist Schelfhout, Paris 29 January 1914; as quoted in “Mondrian, -The Art of Destruction”, Carel Blotkamp, Reaktion Books LTD. London 2001, p. 75.
- For when I construct lines and colour combinations on a flat surface, it is with the aim of portraying ‘universally beauty’ as consciously as possible. Nature (or that which I see) inspires me, provides me – as it does every painter – with the emotion by which I am moved to create something, but I want to approach the truth as closely as possible, abstracting everything until I come to the foundation – still only an outward foundation! – of things. It is for me a clear truth that one does not want to say something ‘specific’, it is then that one says what is most specific: the truth (which is of great universality
* source, famous Dutch people life quotes: a letter to the Dutch art critic and buyer of Mondrians paintings, H. P. Bremmer, Paris 29 January 1914; as quoted in “Mondrian, -The Art of Destruction”, Carel Blotkamp, Reaktion Books LTD. London 2001, p. 81.
- I believe that it is possible by means of horizontal and vertical lines, constructed ‘consciously’ but not ‘calculating’, guided by a higher intuition and brought to harmony and rhythm – I believe that these fundamental esthetic shapes – where necessary supplemented by lines in other directions or curved lines, make it possible to arrive at a work of art which is as strong as it is true. For anyone who sees more deeply, there is nothing vague about this; it is only vague for the superficial observer of nature. And ‘chance’ must be as far removed as ‘calculation’. And for the rest it seems to me that it is necessary to keep breaking off the horizontal or vertical line: for if these directions were not countered by others, they would themselves come to signify something ‘specific’ and thus human.
* source, famous Dutch people life quotes: a letter to the Dutch art critic and buyer of Mondrians paintings, H. P. Bremmer Paris 29 January 1914; as quoted in “Mondrian, -The Art of Destruction”, Carel Blotkamp, Reaktion Books LTD. London 2001, p. 81.
- And finally I must tell you that I was influenced (in Paris 1912/13, fh) by seeing the work of Picasso, whom I ‘greatly’ admire. I am not ashamed to speak of his influence, for I believe that it is better to be receptive to correction than to be satisfied with one’s own imperfection, and to think that one is O so original! Just as so many painters think – And besides, I am surely totally different from Picasso, as one is generally wont to say.
* source, famous Dutch people life quotes: a letter to the Dutch art critic and buyer of Mondrians paintings, H. P. Bremmer Paris 29 January 1914; as quoted in “Mondrian, -The Art of Destruction”, Carel Blotkamp, Reaktion Books LTD. London 2001, p. 81.
- …it was still not good… …very serious work… …although it should have been done differently (remark on his triptych ‘Evolution’ he made in 1911, fh)
* source, famous Dutch people life quotes: a letter to his former teacher Schelfhout, 12 June 1914; as quoted in “Mondrian’ – The Art of Destruction”, Carel Blotkamp, Reaktion Books LTD. London 2001, p. 59.
- As you can see this is a composition of vertical and horizontal lines which will (in an abstract manner) have to express the idea of rising upwards, of magnitude. This is the same idea which used, for example, to be the guiding principle in the construction of cathedrals. Since only the manner of expression and not the representation has to express this general idea, I have not given any title. An abstract human mind will, of itself, receive the intended impression. I always confine myself to expressing the general..
* source, famous Dutch people life quotes: a letter to Theo van Doesburg, Amsterdam, 1915; as quoted in “Letters of the great artists”, Richard Friedenthal, Thames and Hudson, London 1963, p. 234.
- Forgive me of saying so, but good things just have to grow very slowly. I say this in connection with your plans… …for launching a journal. I do not think that the time is favourable for it. More must be achieved in art in that direction. I hardly know anyone who is really creating art in our style, in other words, art which has arrived… …(i.e. you will have to include in it (in the journal, fh) what is not consistent with our ideas)
* source, famous Dutch people life quotes: a letter to Theo van Doesburg (co-founder of De Stijl / Neo Plasticism, fh), Amsterdam, 20 November 1915; as quoted in ”Letters of the great artists”, Richard Friedenthal, Thames and Hudson, London 1963, p. 234.
- This year (1916-17 when he didn’t finish hardly any painting, fh) I have worked hard, and done much searching. A great deal of the old (way of painting, fh) was due for a change. I was searching for a purer representation, which is why I wasn’t satisfied with anything.
* source, famous Dutch people life quotes: a letter of 7 March 1917 to the Dutch art critic and buyer of Mondrians paintings, H. P. Bremmer; as quoted in “Mondrian, -The Art of Destruction”, Carel Blotkamp, Reaktion Books LTD. London 2001, p. 91.
- The large black and white one (Composition in line 1917, fh)
has also been totally reworked, which I now regret; it would have been better to leave it as it was, and make a new one. But when one is searching, one does not now in advance just how to go about it.
* source, famous Dutch people life quotes: a letter of 7 March 1917 to the Dutch art critic and buyer of Mondrians paintings, H. P. Bremmer; as quoted in “Mondrian, -The Art of Destruction”, Carel Blotkamp, Reaktion Books LTD. London 2001, p. 91.
- This is a purely technical question (the poor light in the galleries of the Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, fh), for I feel strongly that my work must be executed in relation to a particular site, and must be carried out on that site. I also see my work as the new decorative art, in which the pictural and the decorative are fused.
* source, famous Dutch people life quotes: a letter of May 1917 to Theo van Doesburg; as quoted in “Mondrian, -The Art of Destruction”, Carel Blotkamp, Reaktion Books LTD. London 2001, p. 91.
- The cultivated man of today is gradually turning away from natural things, and his life is becoming more and more abstract. Natural (external) things become more and more automatic, and we observe that out vital attention fastens more and more on internal things… …Modern man –although a unity of body, mind and soul – exhibits a changed consciousness: every expression of his life has today a different aspect, that is, an aspect more positively abstract.
It is the same with art. Art will become the product of another duality in man: the product of cultivated externality and of inwardness deepened and more conscious. As a pure representation of the human mind, art will express itself in an aesthetically purified, that is to say, abstract form.
* source, famous Dutch people life quotes: ‘De Nieuwe beelding in de Schilderkunst’, Piet Mondriaan, in ‘De Stijl’ No. 1, October 1917; as quoted in ”Letters of the great artists”, Richard Friedenthal, Thames and Hudson, London 1963, pp. 234-236.
- The new plastic idea cannot, therefore, take the form of concrete representation, although the latter does always indicate the universal to a degree, or at least conceal it within. 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.
* source, famous Dutch people life quotes: ‘De Nieuwe beelding in de Schilderkunst’, Piet Mondriaan, in ‘De Stijl’ No. 1, October 1917; as quoted in ”Letters of the great artists”, Richard Friedenthal, Thames and Hudson, London 1963, p. 236.
- The new plastic idea thus correctly represents actual aesthetic relationships. To the modern artist, it is a natural consequence of all the plastic ideas of the past. This is particularly true for painting, which is the art least bounded to contingencies. The picture can be a pure reflection of life, in its deepest essence.
* source, famous Dutch people life quotes: ‘De Nieuwe Beelding in de Schilderkunst’, Piet Mondriaan, in ‘De Stijl’ No. 1, October 1917; as quoted in ”Letters of the great artists”, Richard Friedenthal, Thames and Hudson, London 1963, p. 236.
- The free placement of the means of expression is a privilege enjoyed exclusively by painting. The sister arts, sculpture and architecture, are more restricted in this respect. The other arts enjoy even less scope in their employment of the means of expression….
* source, famous Dutch people life quotes: ‘De Nieuwe beelding in de Schilderkunst’, Piet Mondriaan, in ‘De Stijl’ No. 1, October 1917; as quoted in “Mondrian, -The Art of Destruction”, Carel Blotkamp, Reaktion Books LTD. London 2001, p. 120.
- As I painted, it became gradually clear to me that for my work colour planes set against a solid field do not form an entity. They do for (Bram, fh) van der Leck ( another Dutch ‘De Stijl’-painter, fh) but his method is different.
* source, famous Dutch people life quotes: a letter of 27 February 1918 to the Dutch art critic and buyer of Mondrians paintings, H. P. Bremmer; as quoted in “Mondrian, -The Art of Destruction”, Carel Blotkamp, Reaktion Books LTD. London 2001, p. 104.
- Kandinsky points out (in his book ‘On the Spiritual in Art, fh) that Theosophy (in its true sense; not as it generally appears) is yet another expression of the same spiritual movement which we are now seeing in painting.
* source, famous Dutch people life quotes: ‘De Nieuwe beelding in de Schilderkunst’, Piet Mondriaan, in ‘De Stijl’ No. 1, October 1917, p. 54.
- With regard to the diagonal, too, I am in complete agreement with you (Theo van Doesburg, fh). As soon as it appears together with straight (horizontal and vertical) lines, I believe it should be condemned… …A while back I started a thing entirely in diamonds (diamond-shape, fh) like this (sketch in the letter of several diamond-forms, fh). I have to find out if it’s possible: intellectually I’m inclined to say it is. There’s something to be said for the idea, because perpendicular and flat lines can be seen everywhere in nature; by using a diagonal line I would be canceling that out. But I’m inclined to say that this cannot be combined with perpendicular and flat lines or with different kinds of slanting lines.
* source, famous Dutch people life quotes: a letter to Theo van Doesburg, undated, around May 1918; as quoted in “Mondrian, -The Art of Destruction”, Carel Blotkamp, Reaktion Books LTD. London 2001, p. 120.
- And now about architects in general – I have to say it, Does (Theo van Doesburg, fh), when ‘De Stijl’ was founded I left it up to you, but I never did agree with you when you ranked the architects alongside us, alongside our N.B. (Nieuwe Beelding / Neo-Plasticism) I knew then that it would lead to conflict… …I cannot write about architecture, because I’m not an architect. I mean, I cannot write about the way I write about painting. Later on, though, I will put forward a few ideas.
* source, famous Dutch people life quotes: a letter to Theo van Doesburg, Paris 9 July 1918; as quoted in “Mondrian, -The Art of Destruction”, Carel Blotkamp, Reaktion Books LTD. London 2001, p. 139.
- Dear Does (Theo van Doesburg, fh), thank you for your letter… …I was glad to know that in principle you are in favour of the diamond hanging (his painting hanging in a rhomb, fh) and I think that in practice you will approve of this method for some of my things. You look at the thing (painting, fh) itself, and not only the outward appearance…
* source, famous Dutch people life quotes: a letter to Theo van Doesburg, 3 March 1919; as quoted in “Mondrian, -The Art of Destruction”, Carel Blotkamp, Reaktion Books LTD. London 2001, p. 122.
- 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. (on Neo-Plasticism, fh)
* source, famous Dutch people life quotes: ‘Natural Reality and Abstract Reality’, Piet Mondrian, 1919.
- And then about whether or not to work from a given in nature. In my view, you (van Doesburg, fh) define this in a rather narrow sense. In the main, I do agree with you that the destruction of the natural, and it reconstruction, must be accomplished according to a spiritual image, but I believe that we should take a broad view here. What is natural does not have to be a representation of something. I’m now working on a thing that is a reconstruction of a starry sky (Composition, Checkerboard Dark Colours, 1919, fh) and yet I’m making it without a given from nature. Someone who says he uses a theme from nature can be right, but also someone who says he uses nothing at all.
* source, famous Dutch people life quotes: a letter to Theo van Doesburg, 18 April 1919; as quoted in “Mondrian, -The Art of Destruction”, Carel Blotkamp, Reaktion Books LTD. London 2001, pp. 125-6.
- I am searching for the proper harmony of rhythm and unchanging proportion, as I wrote in the article. And I cannot tell you how difficult it is. (reaction on Van Doesburg criticism of the strong domination of the regular grid in his latest paintings, fh)
* source, famous Dutch people life quotes: a letter to Theo van Doesburg, Paris, 16 September 1919; as quoted in “Mondrian, -The Art of Destruction”, Carel Blotkamp, Reaktion Books LTD. London 2001, p. 171.
- My new installment (Mondrian moved to a new studio in Paris, where he applied the principles of Neo-Plasticism to the interior of his studio, fh) is about decoration, occasioned by my studio here, where I’ve set up a sort of display. I couldn’t work directly on the walls, so I had to make do with pieces of painted cardboard. But in any case, I am now convinced that in this way it is possible to realize Neo-Plasticism in the interior. Of course I had to paint the furniture as well. It was worth the effort, as it has a favourable influence on my work.
* source, famous Dutch people life quotes: a letter to Theo van Doesburg, 4 December 1919; as quoted in “Mondrian, -The Art of Destruction”, Carel Blotkamp, Reaktion Books LTD. London 2001, p. 141.
- The new vision… …does not proceed from a fixed point (discussing with Van Doesburg who had a different view on architecture , fh). Its viewpoint is everywhere, and not limited to any one position (in space, fh). Nor is it bound by space or time (in accordance with the theory of relativity) (of Einstein, fh) In practice, the viewpoint is in front of the plane… …Thus this new vision sees architecture as a multiplicity of planes; again flat. This multiplicity composes itself (in an abstract sense) into a flat image (where Van Doesburg emphasis the dynamic position of the viewer – an central idea Futurism – , while walking through the designed environment, fh)
* source, famous Dutch people life quotes: “Mondrian, -The Art of Destruction”, Carel Blotkamp, Reaktion Books LTD. London 2001, pp. 148.
- They (his friends in Paris Tonia and Wim Stieltjes, fh) are receptive to the new, although they do not know what it is. Thus I do occasionally feel that my effort has not been in vain. They find the idea of the N.B. (in Dutch: Nieuwe Beelding / Neo Plasticism, fh) sound and quite magnificent., but think that it will be quite a long time before people are ready for it.
* source, famous Dutch people life quotes: a letter to Theo van Doesburg, Paris 1920; as quoted in “Mondrian, -The Art of Destruction”, Carel Blotkamp, Reaktion Books LTD. London 2001, p. 17.
- (a modern city like Paris is, fh) beautiful in its perfection, but perfection means death and decay. Thus interfering with the process of dying is a crime against perfection: it stands in the way of a higher perfection.
* source, famous Dutch people life quotes: ‘Natuurlijke en abstracte realiteit’, Piet Mondriaan, ‘De Stijl’ III, 1920, p. 75.
- Ru-h-ru-h-ru-h-h-h-h. Pooh-ooh-ooh. Tick-tick-tick-tick. Pre. R-r-r-r-r-uh-h. Huh! Bang. Su-su-su-ur. Booh-a-ah. R-r-r-r. Pooh…multitude of sounds, all mixed together. Motorcars, buses, carts, carriages, people, lamp-posts, trees… alm mixed together; in front of cafés, shops, offices, posters, shop windows: multitude of things. Motion and standstills: different movement. Movement in space and movement in time (very close to Futurism, fh). Multitude of images and all sorts of ideas. Images are veiled truths. All different truths form what is true. What is individual does not display all in a single image… …Ru-ru-ru-u-u. Pre. Images are boundaries. Multitude of images and all sorts of boundaries. Elimination of images and boundaries through all sorts of images. Boundary clouds what is true. Rebus: where is what is true? Boundaries are just as relative as images, as time and space (this poem has strong connections with the dynamic expression of Futurism, by Boccioni, fh)
* source, famous Dutch people life quotes: ‘The Grand Boulevards’, Piet Mondriaan, ’De Groene Amsterdammer’, 27 March 1920 pp. 4-5.
- The artist make things move, and is moved. He is policeman, motor car, everything at once. He who makes things move also creates rest. That which aesthetically is brought to rest is art.
* source, famous Dutch people life quotes: ‘The Grand Boulevards’, Piet Mondriaan, ’De Groene Amsterdammer’, 27 March 1920 pp. 4-5.
- A particular thought is not the same as a concentrated, creative thought, which is actually a feeling of inward-looking calm. The former produces a descriptive and morpho-plastic art, the latter a purely plastic manifestation. It is a question of the universal versus the individual. (Mondrian refers to André Gide’s ‘Dada’, ‘Nouvelle Revue Francaise’, 1 April 1920, fh)
* source, famous Dutch people life quotes: the editors of ‘The New Art – The New Life’, op. cit. (Intro., note 1), p. 395, note 8.
- I believe that new art must differ totally in its manifestation from art as we know it, and people may be very reluctant to accept this. It is perhaps true to say, as someone did of cubism, that ‘To sum up: since art is a need to create rather than imitate, the “cubists” rousing themselves from the sentimentality born of the picturesque aspect of some natural spectacle or other, disengage the fleeting aspects from those which are constant and absolute, and with the aid of these two elements, construct a reality equivalent to that which they see before them’. Thus it is a question of finding the true equivalence (that, offered by Cubism is still not true equivalence), and this can only be ‘that which is not nature at all, and is nonetheless one with nature’ (as in Neo-Plasticism)
* source, famous Dutch people life quotes:a letter to Lodewijk van Deijssel (who reacted as Dutch art critic on Mondrians essay: ‘Le Néo-plasticisme’, fh) Paris, February 1921; as quoted in “Mondrian, -The Art of Destruction”, Carel Blotkamp, Reaktion Books LTD. London 2001, p. 136.
- Having red several of your books, I wonder if you (Rudolf Steiner, the founder of Anthroposophy, fh) could find the time to read my brochure ‘Le Néo-Plasticisme’, which I am closing. I believe that Neo-Plasticism is the art of the foreseeable future for all true anthroposophists and theosophists. Neo-Plasticism creates harmony through the equivalence of the two extremes: the universal and the individual. The former by ‘revelation’, the latter by ‘deduction’… …It was impossible to bring about an equilibrium of relationships other than by destroying the ‘form’, and replacing it by a new ‘universal’ expressive means. (around 1921/23, fh)
* source, famous Dutch people life quotes: a letter to Rudolph Steiner; as quoted in “Abstract Painting”, Michel Seuphor, Dell Publishing Co 1964, p. 83-85.
- Neo-Plasticism has its roots in Cubism. It could just as easy be called the Painting of Real Abstraction. Since the abstract can be expressed by a plastic reality… …It achieves what all painting has tried to achieve but has been able to express only in a veiled manner. By their position and their dimension as well as by the importance of given to colour, the coloured planes express in a plastic way only relations and not forms. Neo-Plasticism imparts to these relations an aesthetic balance and thereby expresses universal harmony… …For the moment what art had discovered must still be limited to art itself. Our environment cannot yet be realized as a creation of pure harmony. Art today is at the very point formerly occupied by religion. In its deepest meaning art was the transposition of the natural (to another plane); in practice it always sought to achieve harmony between man and untransposed nature. Generally speaking, so do Theosophy and Anthroposophy, although these already possessed the original symbol of balance. And this is why they never were able to achieve equivalent relations, that is to say true harmony. (around 1921/23, fh)
* source, famous Dutch people life quotes: a letter to Rudolph Steiner; as quoted in “Abstract Painting”, Michel Seuphor, Dell Publishing Co 1964, p. 83-85.
- Art on the contrary sought this harmony in practice (of art itself). More and more in its creations it has given inwardness to that what surrounds us in nature, until, in Neo-Plasticism, nature is no longer dominant. This achievement of balance may prepare the way for the fulfillment of man and signal the end of (what we call) art. (1921/23, fh)
* source, famous Dutch people life quotes: “Abstract Painting”, Michel Seuphor, Dell Publishing Co 1964, p. 85.
- It is of small importance whether De Stijl still exists as a ‘group’; a new style was born, a new aesthetic created; it needs only to be understood – and cultivated.
* source, famous Dutch people life quotes: ‘L’expression plastique nouvelle dans la peinture’, Piet Mondriaan, ‘Cahiers d’Art’, 1, 1926, pp. 181-183.
- …(jazz and Neo-Plasticism are) highly revolutionary phenomena: they are destructive constructive. They do not destroy the actual content of form, but rather deepen form only in order to elevate it to a new order. They break the bonds of “form as individuality” in order to make possible a universal unity.
* source, famous Dutch people life quotes: ‘De Jazz en de Neo-plastiek’, Piet Mondriaan, ‘i 10 1’, 1927 pp. 421-427.
- It may be noted that in Neo-Plastic art the crucial thing is the right angel, that is, the right-angle lines. And not whether the position of the lines is vertical or horizontal… …So it is possible to make very beautiful things while placing the lines n a diagonal position. While placing the lines in a diagonal position.
* source, famous Dutch people life quotes: ‘Neo-Plasticism: Home – Street – City’, Piet Mondriaan, ‘i 10’, January 1927.
- Let me know whether you prefer blue and yellow, white and grey, or perhaps red, a bit of blue and yellow and white and grey. The latter works with red in them are more ‘real’, the others more spiritual, more or less.
* source, famous Dutch people life quotes: a letter to his friend, architect Alfred Roth, 7 September 1929; as quoted in “Mondrian, -The Art of Destruction”, Carel Blotkamp, Reaktion Books LTD. London 2001, p. 204.
- To show that this end (of art by its dissolution into real life, fh) is only a beginning, it is essential that… …the series of galleries (of the future museum of modern art, fh) be followed by a room in which painting and sculpture will be realized by the interior itself… …demonstrating that what is lost for art is gained for life. This room could therefore be designed for use as a lecture room, a restaurant… …as a bar with an American jazz band.
* source, famous Dutch people life quotes: Mondrian’s reaction on a questionnaire (1931?); as quoted in “Mondrian, -The Art of Destruction”, Carel Blotkamp, Reaktion Books LTD. London 2001, p. 166.
- I very much like Arp’s things. I consider him the only ‘pure’ artist after Neo/Plasticism.
* source, famous Dutch people life quotes: a letter to his friend architect Alfred Roth, 19 November 1931; as quoted in “Mondrian, -The Art of Destruction”, Carel Blotkamp, Reaktion Books LTD. London 2001, p. 204.
- I believe that at times such as these my modest efforts may be useful to mankind. I have shown how the new art has succeeded in bringing about pure relationships, and furthermore how these can be created in day-to-day life. (Mondrian tried to convince the Dutch publisher Stols to publish his new manuscript ’L’art et la vie’, fh)
* source, famous Dutch people life quotes: from a letter to A. M. Stols, 26 March 1932; as quoted in “Mondrian, -The Art of Destruction”, Carel Blotkamp, Reaktion Books LTD. London 2001, p. 222.
- The rectangular plane of varying dimensions and colours visibly demonstrates that internationalism does not mean chaos ruled by monotony but an ordered and clearly divided unity. In Neo-Plasticism, there are, in fact, very definite boundaries. But these boundaries are not really closed; the straight lines in rectangular opposition to one another constantly intersect, so that their rhythm continues throughout the whole work… …These frontiers will be clearly defined but not “closed”; there will be no customs, no work permits. “Foreigners” will not be viewed as aliens.
* source, famous Dutch people life quotes: ‘The New Art – The New Life’, Piet Mondrian, op. cit. Introd. Note 1., 1931; as quoted in “Mondrian, -The Art of Destruction”, Carel Blotkamp, Reaktion Books LTD. London 2001, p. 222.
- …the Place de l’Opera gives a better image of the new life than many theories. Its rhythms of opposition, twice repeated in its two directions, realizes a living equilibrium through the exactness of its execution.
* source, famous Dutch people life quotes: ‘The New Art – The New Life’, Piet Mondrian, op. cit. Introd. Note 1., 1931; as quoted in “Mondrian, -The Art of Destruction”, Carel Blotkamp, Reaktion Books LTD. London 2001, p. 226.
- (the double line) is still one line, as in the case of your grooves (the wide sunken lines in the relief’s, Grooves made that time, fh)… …In my last things the double line widens to form qa plane, and yet it remains a line. Be that as it may, I believe that this question is one of those which lie beyond the realm of theory, and which are of such subtlety that they are rooted in the mystery of ‘art’. But all that is not yet clear in my mind.
* source, famous Dutch people life quotes: a letter to the artist Gorin, (who stated that the double line broke the necessary symmetry, fh), 31 January, 1934; as quoted in “Mondrian, -The Art of Destruction”, Carel Blotkamp, Reaktion Books LTD. London 2001, p. 215.
- Vertical and horizontal lines are the expression of two opposing forces; they exist everywhere and dominate everything; their reciprocal action constitutes ‘life’. I recognized that the equilibrium of any particular aspect of nature rests on the equivalence of its opposites. (1937)
* source, famous Dutch people life quotes: ‘Plastic Art and Pure Plastic Art’, Piet Mondrian; Wittenborn New York 1945.
- The important task of all art is to destroy the static equilibrium by establishing a dynamic one. Non-figurative art demands an attempt of what is a consequence of this task, the destruction of particular form and the construction of a rhythm of mutual relations, of mutual forms, or free lines… …the law of the denaturalization of matter is of fundamental importance. In painting, the primary color that is as pure as possible realizes this abstraction of natural color
* source, famous Dutch people life quotes: ‘Plastic Art and Pure Plastic Art’, Piet Mondrian; as quoted in “Artists on Art – from the 14th – 20th centuries”, ed. by Robert Goldwater and Marco Treves; Pantheon Books, 1972, London, p. 428.
- Thus we must carefully distinguish between two kinds of reality, one which has an individual character, and one which has a universal appearance… …It is, however, wrong to think that the non-figurative artist finds impressions and emotions received from the outside useless, and regards it even as necessary to fight against them… …It is equally wrong to think that the non-figurative artist creates through “the pure intention of his mechanical process”, that he makes “calculated abstractions” and that he wish to “suppress sentiment not only in himself but in the spectator”… …It is thus clear that he has not become a mechanic, but that the progress of science, of technique, of machinery, of life as a whole, has only made him into a living machine, capable of realizing in a pure manner the essence of art. (1937)
* source, famous Dutch people life quotes: ‘Plastic Art and Pure Plastic Art’, Piet Mondrian; as quoted in “Artists on Art – from the 14th – 20th centuries”, ed. by Robert Goldwater and Marco Treves; Pantheon Books, 1972, London, p. 428.
- Now the only problem is to destroy these lines also through mutual opposition… …(note under a letter, fh): I think that the destructive element is too much neglected in art.
* source, famous Dutch people life quotes: a letter to Sweeney, 24 May 1943; as quoted in “Mondrian, -The Art of Destruction”, Carel Blotkamp, Reaktion Books LTD. London 2001, p. 240.
- Only now (1943) I become conscious that my work in black, white and little color planes has been merely ‘drawing’ in oil color. In drawing, the lines are the principal means of expressions; …In painting, however, the lines are absorbed by the color planes; but the limitations of the planes show themselves as lines and conserve their great value.
* source, famous Dutch people life quotes: a postcard note, late May 1943; as quoted in “Mondrian, -The Art of Destruction”, Carel Blotkamp, Reaktion Books LTD. London 2001, p. 240.
Unsourced artist quotes by Piet Mondrian
-… anxiety subsides. His inhuman void spreads monstrously like grey vegetation. (artist quote on anxiety, Piet Mondrian)
- Cubism did not accept the logical consequences of its own discoveries; it was not developing abstraction towards its own goal, the expression of pure reality. (artist comment on Cubism and its limitation, Piet Mondrian)
- Observing sea, sky and stars, I sought to indicate their plastic function through a multiplicity of crossing verticals and horizontals. Impressed by the vastness of Nature, I was trying to express its expansion, rest and unity. (artist quote on horizontals and verticals, observed in sea, sky and stars by Piet Mondrian)
– …This elite (in a spiritual sense, fh) gradually makes its influence felt upon the masses, and in the end life itself will evolve as well. But this is almost indiscernible. So, to retain one’s faith in human evolution one must constantly look to that elite, and then life is quite wonderful… …In art it has been ever thus: through the ages, only an elite has ever gradually succeeded in expressing pure relationship through the pure means of expression (line and colour devoid of individual form). And it is this which must happen in life. (artist quote by Piet Mondrian on the spiritual and the art elite, from an unpublished letter, collected by Slijper, written around 1930, fh) )
biography facts of Piet Mondrian, the Dutch painter artist of De Stijl / The Style
Piet Mondrian (in Dutch: Mondriaan, fh) started as young painter in a late Dutch Impressionism style, painting the Dutch flat landscapes around Amsterdam. Reflections in water and his concentration on trees is in these early paintings easily to discover, as well as his favourite oval form. Later he worked out the influences of Luminism in Domburg, along the Dutch coast.
Mondrian got strongly influenced by anthroposophy; it was however in a very individual way how he tried to find the relations with options of his modern art; the horizontal and the vertical became synonym for the male and the female aspect in life.
Mondrian left the Netherlands for Paris in 1912 where Cubism was already articulated; it would influence his search in art enormously, especially Picasso‘s art. Also the dynamic and modern city Paris had its own impact on the sensitive artist Mondrian, as the modern ball room dance he loved and practiced a lot. Mondrian returned in 1914 to Holland and it was until 1919 when he was returning to Paris for the second time. In these years he intensified his art as a modern painter, partly by an intensive exchange on Néo-Plasticism with his De Stijl comrade Theo van Doesburg, the co-founder of the art movement De Stijl. Around 1924-26 they started to disagree on several important points, and both artists developed their own option radically. Mondrian left Paris in 1938 for the Nazi’s, he stayed a few years in London and came to New York in 1941. There he recognized as a senior artist the art of the much younger and dynamic Jackson Pollock and Lee Krasnerbeing very promising.
art links for information on the painter Piet Mondrian / De Stijl, + biography facts
* Piet Mondrian, biography facts and history of his art in De Stijl, on Wikipedia
