Mondrian

<p>A key figure in the international avant-garde, <strong>Piet Mondrian </strong>(1872–1944) was at once an extraordinary painter and leading art theoretician whose influence resonates to this day. Coining the term “Neo-plasticism”, he pursued a style of painting composed only of <strong>primary colors</strong> against a <strong>grid of black vertical and horizontal lines </strong>and a <strong>white base background</strong>.<br /><br /> Mondrian’s vision was that this essential painting would help to achieve a society in which art as such has no place, but rather exists for the <strong>total realization of “beauty.”</strong> With stints in <strong>Amsterdam, Paris, London, and New York</strong>, Mondrian drew upon the <strong>modern metropolis</strong> and modern music, especially <strong>jazz,</strong> as points of inspiration. In 1917, he cofounded <strong>De Stijl</strong>, originally a publication, and subsequently a circle of practitioners, committed to a strictly geometrical art of horizontals and verticals.<br /><br /> With key works and succinct texts, this introductory book presents Mondrian's distinctive and pioneering oeuvre, an abiding inspiration for <strong>fashion, art, architecture, and design</strong>, from <strong>White Stripes</strong> album covers to <strong>Yves Saint Laurent </strong>dresses.<br /><br /> 2016 © US Mondrian/Holtzman Trust</p>