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MET MONDRIAN
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Wi

Uh .Wfhl xN53J3 1951

FEBRUARY

17

MARCH

1951

'V

to

to

In today's atmosphere of negativism and despair, which seems

dominate life and expression, Piet Mondrian's contribution dares
negate all negativism. Moreover, no arcana of hidden symbolism
personal, national, ethnic
stand in the way of his view of

and
broadest human hopes and
reality.

est

His

painting

his

writing

are

affirmative

sources

of

potentialities.

Mondrian's discovery of plastic-dynamic equilibrium drives hardat the palpable quest for the constant, the invariant, the

universal in artistic perception of reality.

Every modern artist is sensitive to this search, for it is the felt

need of everyone of us today. It is no wonder then that
do not
I

know a
Mondrian

single

fellow-artist

whether

who has

pro or con

as

not finally

come

to

refer to

the extreme genius of this

central issue.

Mondrian is still for the most part an artist's artist. If his work
appears difficult, it is only because everyone needs to become something of the 'artist': to develop the freedom and capacity to perceive sensorial reality

and

structure free of primitive

and parochial

identifications.

To grasp Mondrian's contribution to the great affirmative line of

demands the point of view of art directly. The creative view
is always inherently the process view, always the affirmation of the
human capacity to evolve new unifying symbol-systems consonant
with ever-evolving, ever-changing life, like Cezanne's great affirmative synthesis of impressionism, Mondrian's neoplasticism stands in
this same relationship to cubism; and to the very act of painting.
history

HARRY HOLTZMAN

...

In

our time Ihe majority has adopted a more

And

or less natural plastic.

a more or

later

less

abstract morphoplastic: cubism, purism, etc. Then

neoplasticism revealed

except to

people naturally

One
work

itself.

fail to

perceive

true content.

its

must be well acquainted with neoplastic

to

understand that

like all

expresses the rhylhm of

tense

almost unknown

is

It

exponents, so poorly known that

its

and

in

its

most

it

in-

eternal aspect. The difference between

morphoplastic and neoplastic

represents rhyihm

ilself

way, not clolhed

it

neoplastic

that

is

!hat

does not

an exact

in

is,

limited form

in

Consequenlly

plaslic.

other painting

but

life,

as

in

at

morpho-

first

charm

the eye, at least the eye that seeks complicated

beauty of form. Such people see

in

neoplastic

and rectangular planes. But

those who are aware of a more interiorized
beauty and who are not bound or blinded by

only straight lines

tradition

free

can experience the pure expression of

rhythm without having

to

think,

know, or

understand. For they are already beyond morphoplastic.

However
which

is

different

this

gained

requires
in

tendencies

practice

of

art,

lengthy

and by becoming

acquainted with the neoplastic esthetic

tirely

new

esthetic

education

by comparing the

an en-

founded by the creators of

neoplastic after they had created the work

This esthetic

itself.

arose solely out of the neoplastic

work, which was created by increasingly thorough

abstraction from limited form. Thus

Property of

The

Hilla

von Rebay Foundation

it

continued

and

the cubist

purist effort. This clearly

was not derived from

neoplastic

calculation or

....

philosophical reflection

We

shows that

future

can never appreciate enough the grandiose

achievement of cubism, which broke away from

the natural appearance of things, and partly from

Had

been understood how

it

true

to

hostile

is

and

plastic

and

lapsing into romanticism

and

individual
less

of the abyss

Therefore there

mod-

will

a distant goal"
limit:

that

why

is

do. For the goal

that

life,

of being developed, of being con-

tinued toward pure plastic. But once this

one can go no

always be necessary?
Beauty realized

itself?

become

that must

if

will

and

in

art

tired

the future

"To go

life.

ly

linked to

minds, but

work

derived from

is

is

already realized as

it

which

life,

goal

art.

of which

life,

continuous

isolated"

direction,

its

this distant

today. Not only

life
is

from

uct,

"become

to

us

contributions,

its

what we must

it

its

direct-

is

clear

in

our

Neoplastic
is

the prod-

"culture,"

is

evolution.

or less, consid-

already moving today. But

is

it

"comes

to

it

an end,"

Clearly the cubist work, being perfect

could not be perfected beyond

Two

solutions remained:

the

natural,

abstract, that

to

is,

in

itself,

highest point.

could retreat toward

it

continue

or

its

plastic

its

become

toward the

neoplastic.

art will long continue to reconcile us to the

we know. Morphoplastic

that

life

nature

neoplastic
is

still

.... Therefore

less

When

"art"

is

be realized

become

is

in

into the

in

will

"abyss"

its

as

it

our palpable environment,

our whole

life,

which then

human."
all

this.

so

or less neoplastic ideas.

it

would have meant negating

It

their

nature. Just as the cubists succeeded Cez-

anne,

cubist

And

had

plastic

so

it

to

be

continued

by

was done.

Generally once the

artist

has found the plastic

expression proper to himself, he does not carry

further,

although

present. But

which

Through
we
many appreciable
many weak realizations

preparing

more

own

true

be transformed,

our metropoli so

well

arising from

first in

"truly

Neoplastic

already see
as

thrown

...

later in society

this last step.

others.

remain. Art

will

Logically the cubists themselves could not take

art

Cubism,

not at an end!

content

efforts

flower.

appreciated as yet and

little

appreciated

is

full

in

still

is

purism, etc. are very

will

more

not too superficial. Then

is

be a long time before

imitating

will

...

life

life

from

precisely

is

warmth. To the contrary,

human progress which we can

our vision

brink

imperfect

art

absent from

is

naturally throw art into the abyss towards

life will

whose

in

possible,

ering the march of

observe

not art merely a poor

Is

beauty

long as

as

artifice,

cre-

is

further, in art. But will art

in

not "chimerical" and there-

is

does not cause

plastic

us to

some get

If

forward uninterruptedly, with one's eyes fixed on

fore

ated,

some would be-

does not endanger

take their place ... as

from

true. For all

was capable

lies

still

The brink

no reason today for

is

up to the present

Very

itself

"pause and sleep awhile."

neoplasticism stands "on the brink of the abyss."

.

task

fine

this future.

not as arid as

is

and even the abyss

lieve,

others

classicism as

Cubist plastic pushed to the

what a

but

preparing

in

of re-

risk

movements generally do.

ern

of art

far limited form

is

would have been

there

tragic,

born

is

ahead

the true content of art.

....

limited form

Probably this will go on for centuries before a

more equilibrated and therefore really beautiful

tic

is

it

is

that

was possible up

no longer possible

in

to

it

the

neoplastic,

the limit of plastic expression. The plas-

means

straight line

and primary color

are incapable of becoming interiorized further,

and composition
tralize these

will

means.

always be necessary

to neu-

1
Those who

try to

perfect neoplastics plastic are

therefore mistaken.
perfecting

In

work,

the

was the case

cubism and morphoplastic

in

esthetic, neoplastic

to

artist,

art

of

limits

work can reappear

ferent ways, each time clothed

the personality of the

3"

a matter of

contrary of what

the

just

is

it

While remaining within the

generally.
its

neoplastic

o
o

dif-

in

and renewed by
which it owes its

strength.

Since the conient of neoplastic

neoplastic

of free rhythm,
the

and attempt

will

neoplastic

Here

let

is

painting ....

all

reasons

clarifies all the

The neoplastic esthetic

ric.

neither decorative nor geomet-

merely say that neoplastic work

us

cannot be decorative or geometric when

ried

to

its

pressed

in

For

painting.

to realize this rhythm, despite

form, has been the content of

why

the creation

is

true

is

it

is

car-

when "everything" is exand by line and color, and when all

peak

the relationships

composition are equili-

the

in

brated. Then the rectangular planes (which are

formed by the

plurality of straight

lines

in

rec-

tangular opposition and which are necessary to

determine color) are dissolved due to

form character,

leaving the planes as "nothing"

To express free rhythm

means
color.

it

is

....

and primary

the relationship of position

tangular relationship

pressing the immutable

the rec-

indispensable for ex-

is

in

mk

necessary to use

as simple as the straight line

And

their uni-

and only the rhythm emerges,

opposition to the vari-

able relationships of dimension. This

is

far from

"displaying a lack of feeling for preservation

(!)

and being governed by an exasperated cerebralness."

On

the contrary,

means "to create"

it

for

our senses a concrete and living reality, although

detached from the transitory

is

why

would

call

contrast to realism

reality of form. That

neoplastic "superrealism,"

in

and surrealism ....

PIET

MONDRIAN

from Cahiers D'Art, No.

translated by Martin

1,

1931

James and Harry Holtzman

iS^S
10

^fittfr' V7T -Ih; T-L^'lr

15

16

20

25

33

Periods.

Fauve

Cubist

1.

2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

Blue Tree, 1909

27

x39'

31

Cubist Figure, 1910

45

x 35'

Landscape, 1910

24

Horizontal Tree, 1911

30

x 44"

Apple Tree, 1911

25

Tree Composition, 1912

37'/2x31'/2

Gray

1910

Tree,

Bloom, 1912

8.

Trees

9.

Apple Tree

in

oil

in

Bloom, 1912

Tan & Gray, 1913

Vi

42 V2

30

x 29"

33"

23

30 %

x 42'

25

V*

37"

34 V2

45%

10.

Facade

11.

Composition

12.

Blue Facade, 1914

37% x26%

13.

Large Oval Composition, 1914

56

14.

Oval Composition, 1914

44'/2x33%

& Minus

15.

Composition Plus

Color Squares

16.

Color Squares, 1917

Facade

Plus

in

in

line

&

&

color,

1913

Minus, 1915

gouache

34

x39'/2

18'/2 X

42 %

23

/4

Composition, 1918

17

19 'Ax 24"

oil

24 %"

1Q

Composition, 1919

1914x19%"

1Q

Composition A, 1920

35'/2x35%"

Ofl

Diagonal Composition, 1921

23%x23%"

OJ

Square Composition, 1922

21

x21%"

0?

Composition, 1926

19%

20 %"

23

Block

& Gray

Composition, 1915

&

Composition Black

(?)

White, 1930

38%

16'Ax

13"

'A

"

V2

"

Composition, 1930

28

Composition, 1931

19%

x 19

17%

x 13"

Composition Blue

&

Yellow, 1937

Composition, Yellow

&

Blue,

1937

Diagonal Composition with Red, 1938

Vertical Composition,

1935-42

Composition, 1936-43

Place de

New

la

Concorde, 1938-43

York, 1941-42

V2

x 2

24

21% x21 %"

40

x 40"

39%

20

'A"

23%x21%"
37

x37%"

37%x36V2"

25
2(l

27.

28-

29
JQ_

31
32.

JJ

Early Classic

C,a SSIC


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JB.

Rebay
New York. Janis, Sidney (Gal.)
PIET MONDRIAN. February 5"
kk
.M^ptT^i March 17, 1951.
XN53J3
1951
N

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The Gallery acknowledges with thanks the foreword by Mr. Harry Holtzman as well
as the diligent translation of Mondrian texts by Messrs. Harry Holtzman and Martin
James. The Gallery wishes to extend its thanks for generous loans from the following
collections: In France: Anonymous. In Holland: Anonymous; Kunsthandel G. J. Nieuwenhuizen Segaar; Mr. S. B. Slijper; Private Collection, Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam.
In Switzerland: M. Jean Arp; M. Max Bill; Mile. Marguerite Hagenbach. In U.S.A.:
Anonymous; Mr. Harry Holtzman; Miss Mary E. Johnston; Dr. and Mrs. Norman Laskey;
Mr. John L. Senior, Jr.
Photograph: Pief Mondrian

in

New

York 1942 by Arnold

Newman.

ic