De Stijl

De Stijl
Key Dates: 1917-1931

An art movement advocating pure abstraction and simplicity– form reduced to the rectangle and other geometric shapes, and colour to the primary colours, along with black and white.

Piet Mondrian (Netherlandish, 1872-1944) was the group’s leading figure. He published a manifesto titled Neo-Plasticism in 1920. Another member, painter Theo van Doesberg (Netherlandish, 1883-1931) had started a journal named De Stijl in 1917, which continued publication until 1928, spreading the theories of the group, which also included the painter George Vantongerloo (Belgian,1886-1965), along with the architects J.J.P. Oud (1890-1963) and Gerrit Rietveld (Netherlandish, 1888-1965). Their work exerted tremendous influence on the Bauhaus and the International Style.

Representative Artists:
Piet Mondrian