The Journey towards Abstraction

Mondrian is famous around the world for his abstract paintings composed of black lines and red, yellow and blue colour planes. When he created them, totally abstract art was something new. Few artists dared to produce paintings that did not refer to the real world in one way or another.

Mondrian’s renowned – and still modern-looking – abstracts were the result of a long journey of exploration undertaken by a series of artists. Van Gogh’s use of colour, Claude Monet’s Impressionist landscapes and Picasso’s black, white and grey had been milestones along the way. Throughout his life, Mondrian felt a great and unfailing urge to innovate. He never wanted to rest on his laurels; the only way was forward.

To survey Mondrian’s work in chronological order is to travel in time through the development of modern art, culminating in his last and most renowned painting: Victory Boogie Woogie (1942-1944), in which lines, colours and rhythm are all that matters.