De Stijl

De Stijl

 

De Stijl started in 1917 and it originated from Theo Van Doesburg. It consist of geometric

shapes and primary colours. The artists had innovative ideas and with their combination, they created the ideal fushion of form and function. They made, paintings, sculptures, typography, music and literature.

 Some of De Stijl characteristics are: simplicity, abstraction, harmony and order. The word ''De Stijl,'' means style in Dutch. In 1920's, some artists were inspired from Dada movement. The leader was Theo van Doesburg.

De Stijl has some elements from Cubism, such as the geometric forms.

De Stijl was also knows as Neo-Plasticism.

                                         A 1921 painting by Piet Mondrian

Theo Van Doesburg

Theo van Doesburg was one of the most popular De Stijl artists, he was an architect, painter, designer and writer. He was in military in 1903. In 1916 he painted some Impressionist landscapes which were inspired from the style itself. In 1914, the inspirations from Kandinsky were clear. His paintings have horizontal and vertical shapes with primary colours. Van Doesburg was also involved in Dadaism, Suprematism, Constructivism, Neo-plasticism and Elementarism.

He was inspired by Cubism. Doesburg and Mondrian co-founded the De Stijl which was made up of illustrations and articles about ideals of artists. The primary goal was to create simplicity and abstraction. A new alphabet was formed in 1919 which was later rendered digitally which is a geometric sans-serif typeface.

In 1924, Doesburg started to set his compositions to 45 degrees to the vertical. This showed that he was more concerned how the painting looked rather than the theory behind it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Piet Mondrian

Piet Mondrian is a Dutch painter and is one of the founders of De Stijl movement. He is mostly known for his abstraction. He uses asymmetrical balance and simplification. These elements were crutial for the development of modern art. Mondrian used vertical and horizontal lies which represented the positive and the negative, the masculine and the feminine.

His paintings were influenced in other art movements too such as Luminism, Impressionism and Cubism. His work was referenced by the Bauhaus from the simplified lines and colours.

Today's technology goes back to De Stijl's characteristics itself because it has minimal, simplicity and the use of grids.

Bibliography:

De Stijl Movement, Artists and Major Works | The Art Story. 2014. De Stijl Movement, Artists and Major Works | The Art Story. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.theartstory.org/movement-de-stijl.htm. [Accessed 09 December 2014].

A brief visual history of the utopian De Stijl movement. 2014. A brief visual history of the utopian De Stijl movement. [ONLINE] Available at: http://99designs.com/designer-blog/2012/12/18/know-your-design-history-the-utopian-de-stijl-movement/. [Accessed 11 December 2014].

MoMA | The Collection | Theo van Doesburg (Christian Emil Marie Küpper) (Dutch, 1883–1931). 2014. MoMA | The Collection | Theo van Doesburg (Christian Emil Marie Küpper) (Dutch, 1883–1931). [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.moma.org/collection/artist.php?artist_id=6076. [Accessed 26 December 2014].

Theo van Doesburg | biography - Dutch artist | Encyclopedia Britannica. 2014. Theo van Doesburg | biography - Dutch artist | Encyclopedia Britannica. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/167638/Theo-van-Doesburg. [Accessed 26 December 2014].

Theo Van Doesburg: Dutch Abstract Painter, Founder of De Stijl. 2014. Theo Van Doesburg: Dutch Abstract Painter, Founder of De Stijl. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.visual-arts-cork.com/famous-artists/theo-van-doesburg.htm. [Accessed 29 December 2014].

Piet Mondrian Biography, Art, and Analysis of Works | The Art Story. 2014. Piet Mondrian Biography, Art, and Analysis of Works | The Art Story. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.theartstory.org/artist-mondrian-piet.htm. [Accessed 30 December 2014].