The neoplasticism It is an artistic trend that was developed in 1917 in Holland by Piet Mondrian in collaboration with Theo van Doesburg. The emergence of this movement at the beginning of the 20th century places it within the currents of modern art..
Mondrian sought his conception to be universal. This current is also considered within abstract art, as it offers a much more analytical conception of the works and tries not to imitate elements of real life -such as realism-, but to represent the shapes and colors of reality..
At the same time, this movement is related to cubism by the representation of geometric figures. Although Neoplasticism is widely known for its paintings, it is also developed in other relevant areas of the plastic arts, such as sculpture and architecture..
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The goal of Neoplasticism is to represent the essence of the universe and its pure beauty. This representation is achieved through the use of a very marked style that has the following peculiarities:
- Aesthetic renovation that seeks to represent beauty and the world in a universal way.
- Rationalist approach that eliminates the presence of accessories in the works. It is limited to capturing only the elemental, without ornaments or extra elements.
- Unique use of geometric shapes, planes and lines. Generally, the geometric shapes that prevail in the works are squares and rectangles.
- Absence of curves and arrangement of shapes and lines perpendicularly, so that only right angles are formed in the work.
- Use of primary colors (yellow, blue and red), as well as neutral colors (white, black and gray). Colors are not altered by light or shadow, and backgrounds tend to be light.
- Presence of asymmetry, but with balance.
- Aversion to realism. Neoplastic artists felt and expressed that the representation and imitation of reality was not necessary, since art was already part of life. That is why they sought the representation of the components of reality through their elemental form and their colors..
Neoplasticism was born after a great reflection on the artistic movements developed so far.
Mondrian, along with other artists who joined this trend, was not pleased with what was represented in realism, symbolism or even cubism, although this served strongly as inspiration..
At the time of the emergence of this artistic trend, Europe was going through the First World War. Piet Mondrian was visiting his father in Holland, but was forced to stay in his country because of the war and it was there that he finished developing the foundations of this artistic movement.
Mondrian had been working on Neoplasticism since 1913, and it was in 1917 that he finished shaping the project. In October of that same year Theo van Doesburg published the first edition of a magazine called De Stijl, and in that publication included the works of Mondrian and many more artists.
This artistic trend was very well received around the artistic world and was filled with praise and congratulations.
In addition, the artists immersed in it were admired since it was considered that they first made themselves known through the media (such as the magazine De Stijl) until his works were requested in multiple art galleries.
In the years prior to the outbreak of the First World War, Theo van Doesburg met a number of artists such as Piet Mondrian and Rietveld, among others, who supported him to carry out the founding of the magazine De Stijl, with editions without established continuity and that had a very good reception from the public.
After publishing the Neoplasticist manifesto in the first edition of De Stijl, Mondrian and Van Doesburg became collaborators. Van Doesburg is considered one of the founders of Neoplasticism, since through the founding of the magazine he actively participated in the dissemination of this art.
When De Stijl it achieved a lot of recognition and was very well positioned, it had approximately 100 collaborating artists, among whom Gerrit Rietveld, Anthony Kok and Bart van der Leck stood out. However, some left the project due to differences of opinion or personal reasons..
After Van Doesburg's death in 1931, the magazine was last published as a tribute to him. It is considered that De Stijl ceased to exist when the life of its founder and principal editor, Theo van Doesburg, ended.
Pieter Cornelis Mondriaan was born in Amersfoort (Holland) on March 7, 1872. He acquired his taste for painting thanks to his father, who was also a painter. At only 10 years old, he entered the Amsterdam State Academy, where he studied until 1908..
At the beginning his tendency was to represent natural landscapes such as forests, with the absence of bright colors. After his arrival in Paris in 1911, where he related to artists such as Picasso and Georges Braque, his paintings were strongly influenced by Cubism..
In 1914 he returned to Holland to visit his father and stayed there for the outbreak of the First World War. During that trip he met Theo van Doesburg and began his true immersion in abstract art: in 1917 they founded the magazine De Stijl and, at the same time, the neoplasticist movement of which Mondrian is considered the founder.
In 1918 he returned to Paris, where he lived for the next twenty years and remained dedicated to art. In 1938 he left Paris and went to London, but his stay was short because in 1940 he definitely went to New York, United States..
In New York he made his last paintings and even left some unfinished, as Mondrian died in this city on February 1, 1944.
Officially called Christian Emil Marie Küpper, he was born in Utrecht (Holland) on August 30, 1883 and was a well-known painter, writer, architect and poet. He began in the artistic world in a self-taught way and dedicated himself to naturalism, although later he leaned towards the currents of abstraction.
During his growth in Holland, specifically in 1917, he began to interact with various artists with Mondrian, J. J. P. Oud, Bart van der Leck and others, who collaborated with him in the founding of the magazine De Stijl, dedicated to the neoplasticist movement. Van Doesburg was editor of this publication.
In addition to his great contributions to Neoplasticism with the founding and publication of De Stijl, participated in various architectural projects, such as the restructuring and redecoration of the Aubette building, in Strasbourg.
Throughout his life he also participated in conferences, exhibitions and courses. His last major project was the construction of his house-studio in Meudon, but it could not be completed because Van Doesburg was forced to travel to Davos due to health problems and died on March 7, 1931 from a heart attack..
Born in Utrecht (Holland) on November 26, 1876, he was a Dutch painter and sculptor who was related to the current of Neoplasticism due to the style of his works. He was also part of the collaborating artists of the magazine De Stijl.
He received early training in workshops and formalized his studies at the School voor Kunstnijverheid and the Rijksakademie van Beeldende Kunsten in Amsterdam in 1904.
In addition to developing painting, he also participated in architectural works, furniture and interior design. Although his style was markedly abstract, nearing the end of his career he also leaned towards the semi-abstract. Van der Leck died on November 13, 1958 in Blaricum, the Netherlands..
He was a Dutch architect and modeler born on February 9, 1890 in Purmerend. He stood out for being one of the representatives of modern art in Holland and for collaborating in the magazine De Stijl. From his main area, which was architecture, he followed the neoplasticist movement.
He was educated from 1904 to 1907 at the Amsterdam School of Arts and Crafts. Years later, more aware of his vocation for drawing, he trained in this area at the Amsterdam State School of Drawing and, finally, he studied at the Delt Polytechnic.
At just 22 years old, he began working as an independent architect and carried out several works together with Theo van Doesburg, with whom years later he worked in the magazine De Stijl.
In 1918 he was a municipal architect in Rotterdam and became very involved with society. He died on April 5, 1963 in Wassenaar.
- Red Blue Chair (1917), the work of Gerrit Rietveld, one of the first representations of neoplasticism in three dimensions.
- Russian dance (1918), painting by Theo van Doesburg.
- Composition VIII, also known as The Cow (1918), painting by Theo van Doesburg.
- Tableau I (1921), painting by Piet Mondrian.
- Composition II in Red, Blue and Yellow (1930), painting by Piet Mondrian.
- New York City I (1942), by Piet Mondrian.
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