ART 236 : Modern Art History

The unmistakable work of Piet Mondrian is characterized by its rhythm, clarity and bold colours. Often considered non-representational, his paintings were in fact inspired directly by his experience of life. By examining Mondrian's fascinating process of working, John Milner explores the energetic tension between the brilliantly disciplined compositions and their underlying subject matter.

Piet Mondrian is one of the artists most identified with the twentiethcentury. With his geometric artworks, he developed a visual iconography that spread far beyond the boundaries of the art world. These abstract works, however, form only a part of Mondrian's entire oeuvre. They were merely the ultimate result of a search lasting thirty years that led to such abstraction. Never before has attention been devoted to Mondrian's career as an artist in such a comprehensive way.

This book on Mondrian, one of the great pioneers of abstract art, analyzes the interrelation between his paintings and his theories on art and life as expressed in public writings and (largely unpublished) letters. Mondrian's art was not based on reasoning or calculation - on the contrary, intuition was central to his concept of the artistic process - but he always felt a strong urge to position his art in a wider cultural and philosophical context.