11 Things You Didn’t Know About Piet Mondrian

Knowledge can be gained at any age. After having a detailed study on topics there are things unknown to us. So, we at Abirpothi present before you the lesser-known facts about artists around the world.

Piet Mondrian

I construct lines and color combinations on a flat surface, in order to express general beauty with the utmost awareness. Nature (or, that which I see) inspires me, puts me, as with any painter, in an emotional state so that an urge comes about to make something, but I want to come as close as possible to the truth and abstract everything from that, until I reach the foundation (still just an external foundation!) of things … I believe it is possible that, through horizontal and vertical lines constructed with awareness, but not with calculation, led by high intuition, and brought to harmony and rhythm, these basic forms of beauty, supplemented if necessary by other direct lines or curves, can become a work of art, as strong as it is true.

Piet Mondrian

Piet Mondriaan

Piet Mondrian was a Dutch abstract painter best known for his involvement in the De Stijl art movement, which promoted pure abstraction through a focus on form and colour alone. Before developing his distinctive style, which he called neoplasticism, Mondrian started out as a traditional artist and dabbled with cubism and luminism. Neoplasticism was developed independently by Mondrian as a way to show a shape that was completely disconnected from reality. The modern art that we know today might not have existed without Mondrian\’s influence. He spent the majority of his adult artistic career in Paris until relocating to New York City in 1940.

View from the Dunes with Beach and Piers, Domburg

Pieter Cornelius Mondriaan was born on March 7, 1872, in Amersfoort, Netherlands. He was the second of Pieter Cornelius Mondriaan\’s five kids with schoolteacher Johanna Christina de Kok. Piet Mondrian was exposed to art from an early age. His uncle was an artist, and his father was a certified art instructor. In addition to teaching elementary school, Piet Mondrian painted in his own time. His early works primarily consisted of landscapes with windmills, rivers, and farmland. In 1911, Mondrian relocated to Paris. He was instantly affected by Picasso and Braque\’s cubist approach, and as a result, his work began to contain more geometric elements and strayed from being entirely naturalistic. During the First World War, Piet Mondrian went back to the Netherlands. He met the painter Bart van der Leck, whose works only featured basic colours. Mondrian began to create his own painting philosophy and aesthetic. After the First World War, Mondrian moved back to Paris and started creating the grid-based abstract paintings for which he is most famous. Piet Mondrian first painted realistic scenes, even though he is better recognized for his abstract works composed of squares and rectangles. He was particularly fond of drawing trees.

11 lesser-known facts about Piet Mondrian

1. In 1898 and in 1901 Mondrian entered the Prix de Rome, the most prestigious art prize in the Netherlands. He failed miserably both times and his report stated that he lacked the talent for drawing and that he was unable to portray lively action in a painting.
2. In 1937, two of Mondrian’s paintings were included in the infamous “Degenerate Art” exhibition in Munich. Willow Grove Impression of Light and Shadow
3. Mondrian would draw bacteriological specimens for the laboratory as part of the cholera investigation. Between 1901 and 1920, the scientists involved in this study received three Nobel Prizes for their contributions to science.
4. He merged his home and workspace rather than keeping a separate studio, happily inviting guests over to lounge around and engage in philosophical discussion among his works in progress. Piet Mondrian, Evening; Red Tree
5. Mondrian was a theosophical believer.
6. Piet Mondrian’s New York City I have been hanging upside down in various galleries for 75 years. New York City
7. He survived the Spanish Flu(The deadly virus of 1918).
8. In 1965, French fashion designer, Yves Saint Laurent, unveiled the Mondrian Collection; six cocktail dresses embracing the artist’s colour-blocking style. Mondrian dresses by Yves St Laurent
9. Mondrian had an uncomplicated interest in women, one that was unusually intense but at the same time enlightened and honourable.
10. He loved jazz music but was an abysmal dancer. Victory Boogie Woogie
11. The man was a compulsive spender and a huge foodie. Gray Tree