Composition with Large Red Plane, Yellow, Black, Grey and Blue

Last updated
Composition with Large Red Plane, Yellow, Black, Grey and Blue
Piet Mondriaan, 1921 - Composition en rouge, jaune, bleu et noir.jpg
Artist Piet Mondrian   OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
Year1921
Medium oil paint, canvas
Dimensions59.5 cm (23.4 in) × 59.5 cm (23.4 in)
Location Kunstmuseum Den Haag
Accession No.0333329  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
Identifiers RKDimages ID: 218084

Composition with Large Red Plane, Yellow, Black, Grey and Blue is an abstract painting from 1921 by the Dutch artist Piet Mondrian. The painting is part of the Kunstmuseum collection in The Hague. [1]

In 1920, Mondrian expressed his belief that art should strive to express deeper truths about the world, rather than imitate life on its surface alone, and endeavor towards artistic freedom, publishing an essay entitled "Neo-Plasticism." Composition with Large Red Plane, Yellow, Black, Grey and Blue is Mondrian's first painting after the publication of this essay, visually representing these ideals by stripping away all recognizable forms of physical objects and even the outlines of individual brushstrokes. [2]

The oil on canvas painting is square in form, measuring 59.5 by 59.5 cm. It was bought in 1921 by Jo Steijling, a Dutch acquaintance that came to visit the painter in Paris. The purchase enabled Mondrian to hire a more expensive studio in Paris, on the rue du Départ. [3]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wassily Kandinsky</span> Russian painter and art theorist (1866–1944)

Wassily Wassilyevich Kandinsky was a Russian painter and art theorist. Kandinsky is generally credited as one of the pioneers of abstraction in western art. Born in Moscow, he spent his childhood in Odessa, where he graduated from Odessa Art School. He enrolled at the University of Moscow, studying law and economics. Successful in his profession, he was offered a professorship at the University of Dorpat. Kandinsky began painting studies at the age of 30.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abstract art</span> Art with a degree of independence from visual references in the world

Abstract art uses visual language of shape, form, color and line to create a composition which may exist with a degree of independence from visual references in the world. Abstract art, non-figurative art, non-objective art, and non-representational art are all closely related terms. They have similar, but perhaps not identical, meanings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">De Stijl</span> Dutch art movement founded 1917

De Stijl was a Dutch art movement founded in 1917 by a group of artists and architects based in Leiden, Voorburg and Laren.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Neoplasticism</span> Art theory espousing pure abstraction

Neoplasticism, originating from the Dutch Nieuwe Beelding, is an avant-garde art theory proposed by Piet Mondrian in 1917 and initially employed by the De Stijl art movement. The most notable proponents of this theory were Mondrian and another Dutch artist, Theo van Doesburg. Neoplasticism advocated for a purified abstract art, by applying a set of elementary art principles. Thus, a painting that adhered to neoplastic art theory would typically consist of a balanced composition of simple geometric shapes, right-angled relationships and primary colors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kunstmuseum Den Haag</span> Art museum in The Hague, Netherlands

The Kunstmuseum Den Haag is an art museum in The Hague in the Netherlands, founded in 1866 as the Museum voor Moderne Kunst. Later, until 1998, it was known as Haags Gemeentemuseum, and until the end of September 2019 as Gemeentemuseum Den Haag. It has a collection of around 165,000 works, over many different forms of art. In particular, the Kunstmuseum is renowned for its large Mondrian collection, the largest in the world. Mondrian's last work, Victory Boogie-Woogie, is on display at the museum.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harry Holtzman</span>

Harry Holtzman was an American artist and founding member of the American Abstract Artists group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Piet Mondrian</span> Dutch painter (1872–1944)

Pieter Cornelis Mondriaan, known after 1911 as Piet Mondrian, was a Dutch painter and art theoretician who is regarded as one of the greatest artists of the 20th century. He was one of the pioneers of 20th-century abstract art, as he changed his artistic direction from figurative painting to an increasingly abstract style, until he reached a point where his artistic vocabulary was reduced to simple geometric elements.

<i>Christ Crowned with Thorns</i> (Bosch, London) Painting by Hieronymus Bosch

Christ Crowned with Thorns, sometimes known as Christ Mocked, is an oil on panel painting by Hieronymus Bosch. It is held in the National Gallery in London, which dates it to around 1510, though some art historians prefer earlier dates.

<i>Christ Crowned with Thorns</i> (Bosch, El Escorial) Painting by a follower of Hieronymus Bosch

Christ Crowned with Thorns is an oil on panel painting made in the 1530s by a follower of Hieronymus Bosch. It is now in the Monasterio de San Lorenzo at El Escorial, near Madrid, in Spain.

<i>Composition with Red, Blue and Yellow</i> 1930 painting by Piet Mondrian

Composition with Red, Blue and Yellow is a 1930 painting by Piet Mondrian, a Dutch artist who was a leading figure in the Neo-Plasticism movement. It consists of thick, black brushwork, defining the borders of colored rectangles. As the title suggests, the only colors used in it besides black and white are red, blue, and yellow. The piece is very similar to Mondrian's 1930 Composition II in Red, Blue, and Yellow. According to Stephanie Chadwick, an associate professor of art history at Lamar University, "Mondrian's Composition with Red, Blue, and Yellow demonstrates his commitment to relational opposites, asymmetry, and pure planes of color. Mondrian composed this painting as a harmony of contrasts that signifies both balance and the tension of dynamic forces."

<i>Composition with Grid No. 1</i> Painting by Piet Mondrian

Composition with Grid No. 1 or Composition in Grey and Ochre is a 1918 painting by the Dutch artist Piet Mondrian. It is currently in the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.

<i>Wheatfield Under Thunderclouds</i> 1890 painting by Vincent van Gogh

Wheatfield Under Thunderclouds is an 1890 oil painting by Vincent van Gogh. The painting measures 50.4 cm × 101.3 cm. It depicts a relatively flat and featureless landscape with fields of green wheat, under a foreboding dark blue sky with a few heavy white clouds. The horizon divides the work almost into two, with shades of green and yellow below and shades of blue and white above. Since 1973 it has been on permanent loan to the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam.

<i>The Red Cloud</i> (Mondrian) Painting by Piet Mondrian

The Red Cloud is a 1907 early painting by the Dutch artist Piet Mondrian. It was painted in 1907. Mondrian completed the painting while staying near Oele, in the east of the Netherlands. One art historian has noted that the "hard colour contrasts and charged, expressive brushwork" is part of Mondrian's evolution towards an abstract painter.

<i>Evolution</i> (Mondrian) Painting by Piet Mondriaan

Evolution is an early painting by the Dutch artist Piet Mondrian. It was executed in 1911, after the artist had visited Paris. The painting represents a mid-point in Mondrian's journey from realistic landscapes to radical abstraction. Symbolic in form and with stylised lines, it was Mondrian's last painting where he painted a human form. Soon after Mondrian completed the painting, it was exhibited as part of the first Moderne Kunstring exhibition at the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam.

<i>Composition with Yellow Lines</i> 1933 painting by Piet Mondrian

Composition with Yellow Lines is a 1933 abstract painting on canvas by Dutch artist Piet Mondrian. While following the grid like structures of his other abstract paintings, it is unusual in omitting the use of any black lines. Indeed, Mondrian's earlier writings on art had stated that any lines in his paintings had to be black; colour was reserved for the filled in rectangles. The painting is equally unusual in that none of the lines meet. He did not paint any further paintings with this design element until his move to New York in 1940.

<i>Card Players</i> (Kunstmuseum, The Hague) Painting by Theo van Doesburg

The Card Players is a 1916/7 painting by the Dutch artist Theo van Doesburg.

<i>A Farmhouse Behind A Fence</i> Painting by Piet Mondrian

A Farmhouse Behind A Fence is a 1904 painting by the Dutch artist Piet Mondrian. It was completed early in his career, in 1904, when "the artist abruptly broke from his former life and went into rural seclusion in Brabant, a province in southern Netherlands." He painted numerous canvases on a rural theme: "in his initial public appearances as a professional artist Mondrian was more concerned with supplying a product that would sell than defining his own personal style."

<i>By the Sea</i> (painting) 1909 Painting by Dutch Artist Piet Mondrian

By the Sea is an oil on cardboard painting by Dutch artist Piet Mondrian created in 1909. Currently owned by the Yale University Art Gallery, the painting depicts a seascape from a vacationing spot in Domburg, Zeeland, Netherlands. With its vibrant colors, the painting presents an intermediate phase of Mondrian's painting career from Hague School Realism to Neoplasticism.

<i>Counter-Composition of Dissonances XVI</i> Painting by Theo van Doesburg

Counter-Composition of Dissonances XVI is a painting by the Dutch artist, Theo van Doesburg. It hangs in the Kunstmuseum Den Haag in Den Haag.

<i>The Lighthouse in Westkapelle</i> Painting by Piet Mondriaan

The Lighthouse at Westkapelle is a painting by the Dutch artist Piet Mondrian in the Kunstmuseum Den Haag.

References

  1. "RKD Research". research.rkd.nl. Retrieved 2024-06-01.
  2. Wiegand, Charmion (Autumn 1943). "The Meaning of Mondrian". The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism. 2 (8): 62–70. doi:10.2307/425946 . Retrieved 14 January 2025.
  3. "Compositie met groot rood vlak, geel, zwart, grijs en blauw | Kunstmuseum Den Haag". www.kunstmuseum.nl (in Dutch). 2016-11-15. Retrieved 2024-06-01.