Piet Mondrian, Oostzijdse Mill in the evening (1908)

This year is the De Stijl avant-garde movement centenary, of which Piet Mondrian (1872-1944) was the most relevant figure. It embraced an abstract aesthetic centered in basic visual elements such as geometric forms and primary colors. It underlined the relationship between painting and architecture, and enhanced graphic design as a way to experiment in plastic, as well as industrial and furniture design. These arts approach aesthetic experience to everyday uses.

Piet Mondrian. Composition Nº IV (1914)

Piet Mondrian´s retrospective will leed visitors to Amsterdam, Paris, London and New York, great world cities where Mondrian could give free rein to his genius. After graduating from the Rijksacademie (State Academy of Fine Arts) in Amsterdam, he exhibited a talent for drawing at an early age. It was there when he made his name as a landscape painter, he felt liberated from tradition and able to experiment with a different palette. In Paris, he approached to Cubism, what encouraged him to attempt greater abstraction with planes and colours, horizontals and verticals. Mondrian lived in London and later in New York, places where he worked so hard and where he participated in modern urban lives.

Piet Mondrian. Composition with Large Red Plane, Yellow, Black, Gray and Blue (1921)

Visitors will have the chance of seeing the last of Mondrian´s creations `Victory, Boogie-Woogie´, which he could not conclude. The exhibition is framed in the 100 years of De Stijl event commemoration. Because of this, The Hague Gemeentemuseum will offer in this contest up to three exhibitions in honour of the revolutionary spirits of De Stijl Movement. These exhibitions can be visited until the end of the summer.

Piet Mondrian, Victory Boogie-Woogie (1942-1944)