Piet Mondrian was an influential artist of the twentieth century. His abstract paintings influenced many other painters and designers. He produced paintings, drawings and prints. Famous Piet Mondrian paintings include “Victory Boogie Woogie”, “Composition in Red, Blue, and Yellow”, “Pier and Ocean 5 (Sea and Starry Sky)”, and “Composition in White, Black, and Red”.
Mini biography: Born Pieter Cornelis Mondriaan on the 7th of March, 1872 in Amersfoort, Netherlands. His mother was (Let me know in the comments below if you know his mother’s name) and his father Pieter Cornelius Mondriaan. Piet Mondrian died on the 1st of February, 1944 in Manhattan, New York, United States of America. Mondrian was 71 years old when he passed away.
Check out these books on Piet Mondrian: “Piet Mondrian: Life and Work“, “Piet Mondrian Masterpieces of Art“, and “Piet Mondrian: The Man who Changed Everything“.
Piet Mondrian Art Quotes
The emotion of beauty is always obscured by the appearance of the object. Therefore the object must be eliminated from the picture. Piet Mondrian
It is for me a clear truth that one does not want to say something ‘specific’, it is then that one says what is most specific: the truth (which is of great universality). Piet Mondrian
The position of the artist is humble. He is essentially a channel. 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. Piet Mondrian
Self-awareness is, in my view, of crucial importance to all human beings. I can understand how the Catholic doctrine may lead to vagueness, but Theosophy, which is a spiritual science, can never do so. Piet Mondrian
I believe that it is possible by means of horizontal and vertical lines, constructed ‘consciously’ but not ‘calculating’, guided by a higher intuition and brought to harmony and rhythm – I believe that these fundamental aesthetic shapes – where necessary supplemented by lines in other directions or curved lines, make it possible to arrive at a work of art which is as strong as it is true. For anyone who sees more deeply, there is nothing vague about this; it is only vague for the superficial observer of nature. Piet Mondrian
Every true artist has been inspired more by the beauty of lines and color and the relationships between them than by the concrete subject of the picture. Piet Mondrian
A form must be of its own time if it is to be recognized: one cannot relate to what one is not or does not have – Thus all that is of the past is to be rejected. Piet Mondrian
The abstract human mind will have to receive the intended impression by its own means. I always confine myself to expressing the universal, that is, the eternal (closest to the spirit) and I do so in the simplest of external forms, in order to be able to express the inner meaning as lightly veiled as possible. Piet Mondrian
Neo-Plasticism has its roots in Cubism. It could just as easy be called the Painting of Real Abstraction. Since the abstract can be expressed by a plastic reality.. .It achieves what all painting has tried to achieve but has been able to express only in a veiled manner. Piet Mondrian
Art is not made for anybody and is, at the same time, for everybody. Piet Mondrian
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
The truly modern artist is aware of abstraction in an emotion of beauty; he is conscious of the fact that the emotion of beauty is cosmic, universal. This conscious recognition has for its corollary an abstract plasticism, for man adheres only to what is universal. Piet Mondrian
A particular thought is not the same as a concentrated, creative thought, which is actually a feeling of inward-looking calm. The former produces a descriptive and morpho-plastic art, the latter a purely plastic manifestation. It is a question of the universal versus the individual. Piet Mondrian
The first thing to change in my painting was the color. I forsook natural color for pure color. I had come to feel that the colors of nature cannot be reproduced on canvas. Instinctively I felt that painting had to find a new way to express the beauty of nature. Piet Mondrian
To approach the spiritual in art, one will make as little use as possible of reality, because reality is opposed to the spiritual. Piet Mondrian
You must have heard that last autumn I almost got married, but I am glad I realized in time that it had been an illusion, all those beautiful things. Although I have always lived for art, I am also attracted to the beautiful in life and so I sometimes do things that seem strange for me. Piet Mondrian
Modern man – although a unity of body, mind, and soul – exhibits a changed consciousness: every expression of his life has today a different aspect, that is, an aspect more positively abstract. Piet Mondrian
It is of small importance whether De Stijl still exists as a ‘group’; a new style was born, a new aesthetic created; it needs only to be understood – and cultivated. Piet Mondrian
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. Piet Mondrian
Art Quotes About Piet Mondrian
My entrance into the field of abstract art came about as the result of a visit to the studio of Piet Mondrian in Paris in 1930. I was particularly impressed by some rectangles of color he had tacked on his wall in a pattern after his nature. I told him I would like to make them oscillate, he objected. Alexander Calder Quotes
More on Dutch Artist Piet Mondrian
How has Piet Mondrian influenced your art making? Is he the greatest abstract artist of the 20th century? Let us know what you think about Mondrian in the comments below.
Related or similar popular artists and celebrities include: Lee Krasner, Franz Kline, Cy Twombly, Robert Ryman and other Famous Abstract Artists.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.