Contemporary Collection of The Cleveland Museum of Art · The Cleveland Museum of Art
Image: public domain (CC0) · Museum record & image source ↗
Composition with Red, Yellow, and Blue
- Date
- 1927
- Medium
- oil on canvas
- Dimensions
- Framed: 62.2 x 62.6 x 10.8 cm (24 1/2 x 24 5/8 x 4 1/4 in.); Unframed: 49.5 x 49.5 cm (19 1/2 x 19 1/2 in.)
- Country / context
- Netherlands
- Movement / tradition
- De Stijl · Source ↗
- Collection
- The Cleveland Museum of Art
- Pathway
- European and American art ↗
During the 1910s, Piet Mondrian’s art progressed from Cubism to an increasingly abstract style based on the form of a grid. He completely abandoned the representation of natural appearances, limiting himself to horizontal and vertical rectangles and three primary colors (red, yellow, and blue) along with black and white. Intensely intellectual and deeply philosophical, Mondrian believed that following the devastation of World War I, such abstract compositions could contribute to a more harmonious society by communicating in a universal, visual language.
Collection text · The Cleveland Museum of Art · CC0Start with what you can see: shapes, surface, colour and scale. How might the listed materials affect the way this object was made and experienced?
Looking prompt · an invitation to observe, not a historical interpretation.
