About the Author

The Dutch artist Piet Mondrian (1872-1944) began his career as a landscape painter. In 1911 he was attracted by Cubism, and moved to Paris, where his paintings showed in abstract terms the themes of nature from his earlier work. In 1917 Mondrian cofounded De stijl, the journal where he published his theories of neoplasticism (art based on a spiritual principle of universal harmony). Known for their distinctive primary color palettes and dynamic yet balanced compositions, Mondrian’s neoplastic paintings were keystones of the modernist movement and continue to influence the way we view art today.