Piet Mondrian

Pieter Cornelis Mondriaan, after 1906 Piet Mondrian (March 7, 1872 –  February 1, 1944), is a Dutch painter and theoretician who is regarded as one of the greatest artists of the twentieth century.

He is known for being one of the pioneers of twentieth century abstract art, as he changes his artistic direction from figurative painting to an increasingly abstract style, until he reaches a point where his artistic vocabulary wis reduced to simple geometric elements.

Mondrian's art is highly utopian and is concerned with a search for universal values and aesthetics.

He proclaimdin 1914: "Art is higher than reality and has no direct relation to reality. To approach the spiritual in art, one will make as little use as possible of reality, because reality is opposed to the spiritual. We find ourselves in the presence of an abstract art. Art should be above reality, otherwise it would have no value for man."

His art, however, always remaind rooted in nature.

He is a contributor to the De Stijl art movement and group, which he co-founds with Theo van Doesburg.

He evolves a non-representational form which he terms Neoplasticism.

This is the new 'pure plastic art' which he believes is necessary in order to create 'universal beauty'.

To express this, Mondrian eventually decides to limit his formal vocabulary to the three primary colors (red, blue and yellow), the three primary values (black, white and gray) and the two primary directions (horizontal and vertical).

Mondrian's arrival in Paris from the Netherlands in 1911 marks the beginning of a period of profound change.

He encounterd experiments in Cubism and with the intent of integrating himself within the Parisian avant-garde removes an 'a' from the Dutch spelling of his name (Mondriaan).

Mondrian's work has an enormous influence on twentieth century art, influencing not only the course of abstract painting and numerous major styles and art movements (e.g. Color Field painting, Abstract Expressionism and Minimalism), but also fields outside the domain of painting, such as design, architecture and fashion.

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