Monday Morning Art #2 - Mondrian

Before Mondrian developed his trade-marked geometric shapes and colours, he created some striking landscapes and recognizable depictions of the Dutch landscape.

This piece is "Small Farm on Nistelrode" and was completed in 1904.

I like how his colours and contours hint of his later geometric creations.

These two pieces will be readily recognizable to all, surely.  Even if you don't know the name "Piet Mondrian" you'll recognize the pattern.  Whether you saw it on the packaging of some personal-care product or food item or wall-paper, this imagery has crept into all corners of our world since he first started experimenting with colour and line more than 100 years ago.

Interestingly, the designs are so timeless, that the patterns are still exploited to give products or clothing a 'modern' look even today.

It's also interesting to compare the three pieces shown here and see how Mondrian's observations and interpretation of the world around him evolved to find pleasing combinations without having to retain the 'representational' element.

He echoed this in naming approach as well, giving the pieces simple names like "Composition with Red, Blue and Yellow" or Tableau.  Later though the names reference locations of inspiration like, "Broadway Boogie Woogie," "Trafalgar Square," and "Place de la Concorde."
These geographical names point out how his roots in painting the landscape continue to inspire, even when he's representing the places with only geometry and colour.

Well there are lots of places for you to read about Mondrian - and my yammering is not going to bring anything new to the discussion.  Take a look at the Mondrian body of work on WikiArt if you are so inspired.