Reviews (1)

Simply beautiful!
When I visited the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York City, I was fortunate enough to see the "Blue Chrysanthemum" on display. I was held breathless by the beauty of Mondrian's painting. (I had been more familiar with Mondrian's abstract pieces before but had no idea he created so many watercolours of flowers.) Coming home, I wanted to see more of his non-abstract work and found this incredible book. The color plates are exquisite - even plates of the watercolours from private collections are included! As an ordinary art lover, I would never be able to view the privately owned watercolours if I did not purchase this book. If you love Mondrian, this would be a joy every time you open this book. ... Read more

Book Description

"After several years, my work unconsciously began to deviate more and more from the natural aspects of reality. Experience was my only teacher; I knew little of the modern art movement. When I first saw the work of the Impressionists, van Gogh, van Dongen, and Fauves, I admired it. But I had to seek the true way alone. . . . I forsook natural color for pure color. I had come to feel that the colors of nature cannot be reproduced on canvas. Instinctively, I felt that painting had to find a new way to express the beauty of nature."—Piet Mondrian

Piet Mondrian is one of the most recognizable artists of the 20th century. His grid paintings, beginning in 1920 (when he was nearly 50) are perhaps the most iconic statement of the modernist aesthetic. But preceding these paintings stands a career of nearly 30 years during which Mondrian evolved froma painter of atmospheric landscapes and embarked on a distinctive pathtowards abstraction. This book focuses exclusively on the process of Mondrian finding his abstract style, analyzing in depth the disparate influences upon him—aesthetic, historical, intellectual, and spiritual—in the years up to 1914. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

the difference between art and housepainting
I am fascinated by modern painting. There is an anecdote about the father of all modern painters, Picasso. When somebody asked him about his twoheaded ugly women, he answered that it is art, because he can se the world this way. This way too, because he could see it in the conventional way too. And he then did draw a very classical act. I think that this anecdote is fictional because you can't to draw classically to be a modern painter. This wonderful, insightful and easy to understand book explains what is modern and what is esthetic in Piet Mondrian's abstract squares of colors and what differentiates them from the similarly fanciful work of a house painter. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

THIS IS A BOOK TO STUDY !
Reading this is a must for any artist .

What can I say but I was told to read this and am so glad I was. Some of the best advise I ever got .

TO read the book and what is in it !

a good balance of reading vs. seeing
Mondrian's work is, in my opinion, best appreciated in context. He didn't simply arrive at perpendicular lines as form overnight, and this book demonstrates how Mondrian evolved as an artist over time. The text is highly readable, never too lofty, and quite fascinating at times. Those who are not entirely familiar with Mondrian's career or who want insight into his vision as an artist would do best to consult this text and its many color plates.

review of Mondrian - Structures in Space
A good overall introductory-level book of Mondrian's work. Lots of full-color illustrations, many full page, and relatively short text make this book easy for the reader who is developing an interest in Mondrian's work.

The author places Mondrian's work within the context of the times it was made, discussing concurrent developments and how other artist's work was influential on Mondrian, and how his work in turn influenced other artists. Several illustrations reproduce the work of these other artists.

The text is both biographical and developmental, as the various periods of Mondrian's work are all discussed, from his earliest Hague school-influenced landscapes through his Cubist inspired works to his mature Neo-Plastic paintings.

The photographic reproductions are excellent, and the text is informative without being scholarly. For anyone needing an introduction to Mondrian's work and career, this is the book for you.

Mondrian (GREAT Modern Masters Series)
This would be biography of Mondrian provides quite a bit of insight into the artist himself. A attention keeping book, this one gives insight to one of the great abstract expressionists. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

a good balance of reading vs. seeing
Mondrian's work is, in my opinion, best appreciated in context. He didn'tsimply arrive at perpendicular lines as form overnight, and this bookdemonstrates how Mondrian evolved as an artist over time. The text ishighly readable, never too lofty, and quite fascinating at times. Those whoare not entirely familiar with Mondrian's career or who want insight intohis vision as an artist would do best to consult this text and its manycolor plates. ... Read more

Book Description

Just before World War II, Piet Mondrian fled from Paris to London andlater to New York, where he lived until his death in 1944. Upon his arrival in Manhattan,the artist began reworking seventeen of the paintings he brought with him, many ofwhich had already been finished and exhibited. He changed lines and added blocks andbars of color to give them what he called "more boogie-woogie."

In this groundbreaking book, Harry Cooper, an authority on Mondrian's art, and RonSpronk,an expert on the technical examination of paintings, investigate the artist's so- called transatlantic paintings and his unusual working method during this period. Theircollaboration offers an intimate look into the studio of one of the greatest modern artistsand establishes a new model for the integration of art history, theory, and technicalanalysis.

The book begins with two essays by Cooper that discuss the critical reception ofMondrian's work, the place of the transatlantic paintings in the evolution of his art, andthe particular significance of their dates and titles. Spronk's essay presents technicaldiscoveries based on the authors' original research, reproducing and interpreting manynew X-radiographs, photomicrographs, and photographs taken under ultraviolet andinfrared light. The catalogue features such major paintings as Place de la Concorde(1938–43) from the Dallas Museum of Art and No. 12 (1936–42) from the NationalGallery of Canada. Each work is discussed in a comprehensive entry accompanied by adazzling array of illustrations that take the reader under the surface of the painting toreveal its genesis.

This is the catalogue for an exhibition that opens at the Harvard University Art Museumsin April 2001 and then travels to the Dallas Museum of Art. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

review of the transatlantic paintings
An excellent exhibition catalog that focuses on a narrow body of works by Mondrian; namely, paintings that Mondrian brought with him on his flight from World War II in Europe to New York City, and that he either finished in New York or re-worked completely, thus the name "transatlantic paintings." These works are largely a response to the vibrant city life Mondrian enjoyed in New York, seeing the city as an embodiment of his utopian ideas of life in the future for all mankind. Part of this response included Mondrian's embracing of a musical fusion of blues and jazz music called boogie-woogie.
The photographs are made with the most advanced technology available, and give new insights into Mondrian's working methods, chronicaling his many revisions with x-ray and ultraviolet photography, among other techniques. Extreme close-ups are provided of small details that are otherwise impossible to see with the naked eye.
This book is not for the casual reader looking for biographical or career retrospective information on Mondrain, as its focus is too narrow, but is designed for those interested in the final period of Mondrian's career, and those interested in the conservation and restoration of paintings. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

THIS IS A BOOK TO STUDY !
Reading this is a must for any artist .

What can I say but I was told to read this and am so glad I was. Some of the best advise I ever got .

TO read the book and what is in it !

a good balance of reading vs. seeing
Mondrian's work is, in my opinion, best appreciated in context. He didn't simply arrive at perpendicular lines as form overnight, and this book demonstrates how Mondrian evolved as an artist over time. The text is highly readable, never too lofty, and quite fascinating at times. Those who are not entirely familiar with Mondrian's career or who want insight into his vision as an artist would do best to consult this text and its many color plates.

review of Mondrian - Structures in Space
A good overall introductory-level book of Mondrian's work. Lots of full-color illustrations, many full page, and relatively short text make this book easy for the reader who is developing an interest in Mondrian's work.

The author places Mondrian's work within the context of the times it was made, discussing concurrent developments and how other artist's work was influential on Mondrian, and how his work in turn influenced other artists. Several illustrations reproduce the work of these other artists.

The text is both biographical and developmental, as the various periods of Mondrian's work are all discussed, from his earliest Hague school-influenced landscapes through his Cubist inspired works to his mature Neo-Plastic paintings.

The photographic reproductions are excellent, and the text is informative without being scholarly. For anyone needing an introduction to Mondrian's work and career, this is the book for you.

Mondrian (GREAT Modern Masters Series)
This would be biography of Mondrian provides quite a bit of insight into the artist himself. A attention keeping book, this one gives insight to one of the great abstract expressionists. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

review of On the Humanity of Abstract Painting
This is actually two essays written at different times and compiled into book form. The first, written by Schapiro in 1960, gives the book its title, and is a basic defense of abstraction in general, having little to do specifically with Mondrian or his work.

The second, much longer essay "Mondrian: Order and Randomness in Abstract Painting," was written in 1978, and concentrates on a few specific works by Mondrian. This is again written as a justification, but focused on the importance of Mondrian. Schapiro draws useful comparisons between Mondrian's work and other paintings by important modern masters, such as Degas and Picasso.

These essays are not biographical, but should be regarded as criticism, although Schapiro does briefly discuss various phases of Mondrian's development, and the overall tone is wholly postive. Small color and b&w reproductions of the paintings of Mondrian and other modern painters are included. ... Read more

Book Description

New in paperback, Mondrian: The Art of Destruction analyses the interrelation between the paintings and the theories on art and life of one of the great pioneers of abstract art. By examining the influences that shaped his work-Fauvism and Cubism c. 1910; the work of Bart van der Leck, De Stijl and the Parisian art world during the 1920s-the book shows Mondrian not as an isolated figure, but as an artist who took a keen interest in the world around him, and who saw himself participating in the creation of a new, modern culture. ... Read more

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Instructor (1990), published by Scholastic, Inc. on April 1, 2002. The length of the article is 401 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Piet Mondrian. (Masterpiece of the Month).(Brief Article)
Author: Christine Mills
Publication: Instructor (1990) (Magazine/Journal)
Date: April 1, 2002
Publisher: Scholastic, Inc.
Volume: 111Issue: 7Page: 43(2)

Article Type: Brief Article

Distributed by Thompson Gale ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Review of Mondrian's collected writings
Piet Mondrian, one of the great minds of modern art, left voluminous writings to both explain and defend his abstract style of painting. This book assembles his published essays, from his first "The New Plastic in Painting" (1917), through his other contributions to De Stijl magazine, and his posthumously published sketchbook notes.

This book is not for the casual reader, or for someone just beginning to explore Mondrian's ideas and work. Mondrian's writing style is at times lucid and straightforward, at others repetive and oblique, and this adds up to a dense read that requires much focus to appreciate. Mondrian's major contributions to modern art are all outlined in verbal form here, from the basics of Neo-Plasticism that he utilized throughout his mature style, to ideas that were so fantastic that they were not practical, such as his desire to make all his paintings in the space where they were to be displayed.

The book itself is quite lengthy: at 400 pages, this is not a quick read. While illustrations of Mondrian's paintings are included, they are not part of the overall page count, so the 400 pages are solid text. Each essay begins with a commentary that is quite helpful is placing that particular writing within its proper context, and the introductory essays by Holtzman and James are informative.

Overall, a great book chronicaling the development of one of the landmark styles of modern art, and the utopian, visionary thoughts of the man who dedicated his life to the world he had created, and to the hope that future generations would incorporate his idealistic beliefs into everyday life. ... Read more