Today, we begin with a little insight into our process. It may surprise you to know that — unlike this week’s category — our process is, well, somewhat “organic.” And, it’s already been a helluva a week on each side of our collective ponds, and so … apologies that you find us in your inboxes a bit late today. Still, here we are – lucky you – to talk
De Stijl
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Like so many art movements De Stijl (which originally started as a publication about art and abstraction) was more than just an art “style” – it was really a broader utopian vision, a belief that art had transformative powers. Convinced that the idea of the “individual” had lost its significance, Dutch abstract artists Theo van Doesburg and Piet Mondrian – the founders of both the publication and the movement – conceived of a universal visual language that, in its simplicity and austerity, would reveal a certain harmony in the laws that govern nature. Really, they thought it would be a new, spiritualized world order.
The movement was in part a product of geopolitics - while other countries were embracing cubism and other forms, the Netherlands had been neutral in the war, and had thus been cut off from these major influences. Still, the end of the war brought a rush of energy for expression, and the isolation of the Netherlands allowed it to articulate its own particular movement. Maybe on some level the De Stijl school — like many of the avant-garde movements of the time — was looking for a way to heal the collective trauma caused by World War I? (It makes us wonder what utopian ideals and movements will arise in the years following the current collective trauma.)
In any case, they were definitely certain that Art Moderne was not the answer to anything; and De Stijl could not be a starker contrast. Its abstract style draws on visual aspects of Cubism and Separatism. Also drawing on mathematical theories regarding “ideal” geometric forms, De Stijl in its true expresses what they saw as the purest form of geometry. Shapes were limited to straight lines and basic geometrics (mostly squares and rectangles).
(Mondrain’s “Composition A.” Photo: WikiCommons.)
The color palette was limited to black, white (sometimes gray) and the three primary colors. Visually, the compositions appear simple, often even austere, but perhaps only deceptively so, given the importance the artists placed on everything from mathematics to mysticism. De Stijl also tends strongly toward asymmetry, with a unfaltering commitment to balancing negative and positive space.
(Rietveld’s Red and Blue Armchair. Photo Credit: WikiCommons.)
Not surprising given its universal aim, and their ideal vision of the fusion of form and function, De Stijl wasn’t limited to just fine art; their vision extended to architecture, industrial design, music and literature.
(The Rietveld Schröder House. Photo: WikiCommons.)
Like most utopian movements, reality eventually seeped in. Mondrian and Doesburg parted ways when Doesburg strayed from the very narrowly defined path. Seems like the straw that broke the camel’s back was pretty much Doesburg’s incorporation of diagonal lines (!!!), though it was really more than that – Doesburg wanted to rethink the dogmatic approach, and add some variety and movement (thus spawning Elementarism).
Doesburg continued the De Stijl publication until his death in 1931. Ultimately, faced with the realization that the pure De Stijl vision was unattainable in the real world (see also: all other utopian ideals), the movement came to an end - even though its influence can be seen in everything from architecture to modern art.
Tasting Notes
Simple visual composition
Precise geometric forms (straight lines, squares and rectangles)
Limited to primary colors with black, white and gray
Heavy use of asymmetry
Balances positive and negative elements/space