1. A pioneer in the art of abstraction “always further”
Piet Mondrian
BIO
Piet would use the phrase “always further” to motivate himself into transforming his artwork

2. Dutch painter Balance, form and color Basic Bio
Born: Pieter Cornelius Mondriaan Jr. in Amersfoot, Holland on March 7, 1872
Died: pneumonia in New York City on February 1, 1944
Dutch
Brought up in strict religious household
One sister, two brothers – Pieter was the second born
Family always strongly encouraged art and music
Father was Head Master of the local primary school
Very skilled in drawing – taught Pieter how to draw
Accomplished artist Uncle Frits Mondriaan taught Pieter how to paint
Studied at the Royal Academy of Visual Arts in Amsterdam
Dutch painter
Balance, form and color

3. BEGINNINGS OF STYLE:
Pieter had trouble developing his own painting style
Nature and simplicity
Stuck to copying the master artists but it never felt right to him
In the beginning, Pieter painting traditionally Dutch scenery/landscapes (bridges, fields, farms, forested areas)
Questions
What is this painting of?
HOW do you know that it is a tree??? (simplicity started early on, we know what we are looking at, symbolically this sets the ground work for the following discussion)
But there is no limbs?
There is no Leaves?
There is no Grass?
Any small details?

4. “the first thing to change in my painting was the color.”
Style:
bright, bold colors
the brush strokes
BIO:
In 1905, new sense of drama and light.
Inspiration: French Post-Impressionists, Dutch Impressionism, Vincent Van Gogh (bold color, brushwork), Georges Seurat (pointillism), Matisse (color), Edvard Munch (brushwork),
Questions:
Simplified into what colors?
What are red blue and yellow called? (Primary Colors)
What artist does this remind you of? (SEE above)
Red Tree 1910
Mill in Sunlight: The Winkel Mill 1908

5. loss of detail: the road to abstraction
STYLE:
strong colors and form
loss of detail
BIO:
Due to loss, his mother’s unexpected death, Pieter started experimenting.
Example Questions:
What is this? ( windmill)
How do you know? ( shape)
What does loss of detail mean? ( brush stroke AND architectural details)
The Red Mill 1911

6. Above: Trees in Blossom 1913
cubism
STYLE:
Started to use black lines as a grid
Reduced nature down to a framework
Pared landscapes down to their simplest structures of line and shape
CUBIST=Objects are broken up into fragments and reassembled into a form that shows many different view points and angles
BIO:
Moved to Paris in 1912 and became inspired!
Dropped his father’s name and changed his to “Piet Mondrian”
Fell under the influence of Picasso and other Parisian, modern, abstract artists and began delving into Cubism
Temporarily adopted the muted gray and yellow/brown color palette of Cubism
Questions: ( no real correct answer these are more leading questions)
Can you still see the trees in these paintings?
Remember the Loss of details?
Remember the land scape we still knew what that was- right?
Who has drawn a picture with a pencil or a black pen?
Who thinks this is a tree in a group or in a field?
Above: Trees in Blossom 1913

7. Composition No. 10/(Pier and Ocean) 1915
WHAT DOES THAT MEAN???
TASK:
Step 1:
Can you find the Pier in the picture? ( have child point it out)
Step 2:
Can you find the Water in the picture? ( have child point it out)
STYLE:
Uses a visual language of color, line and form
Continued to work on his abstract style
Piet’s curved lines gradually disappeared- new style change
Used lots of horizontal and vertical dashes, instead
BIO:
His paintings had taken on an infinite form, with scattered marks that all looked the same across the entire surface
Unlike the Cubists, Mondrian wished to stress the flatness of the painting surface, rather than allude to a 3D illusion of depth
In 1914, he visited his sick father in Holland, but became stranded because WWI broke out
Unable to return to Paris until 1919
Questions:
How do you know, what represents the water? ( horizontal ripples)
Do we all agree?
Does the quote make sense now?
Tell me about the Quote?
Composition No. 10/(Pier and Ocean) 1915
“I wish to approach truth as closely as is possible, and therefore I abstract everything until I arrive at the Fundamental quality of objects.”

8. The loss of curved lines
STYLE:
the loss of curved lines
Vertical and horizontal dashes became rectangles
colors were still muted
BIO:
The furthest point of abstraction that Mondrian entered
People had never seen anything like this before
Considered “dark” and “brooding”
Example Questions:
How are these paintings different from the others we’ve seen so far?
Composition 1917
The loss of curved lines

9. Composition with Yellow, Red, Black, Blue, and Gray 1920
STYLE:
NEO-PLASTICIM:
Abstraction and simplification
Straight horizontal and vertical lines
Right angles
The three primary colors (red, yellow, blue)
The three non-colors (gray, white, black)
Neo-plasticism: “Only primary colors and non-colors, only squares and rectangles, only straight and horizontal or straight and vertical line.”
BIO:
Piet became the most abstract & modern painter of his field
Example Questions:
How has Mondrian’s painting style changed?
What does it look like/remind you have? Stained glass, windows, picture frames, Geometry, etc.?
Neo-plasticism: “Only primary colors and non-colors, only squares and rectangles, only straight and horizontal or straight and vertical line.”

10. Tableau No. 1 1925 STYLE: (VERY IMPORTANT for Lesson plan ground work)
Basic rules: shapes and primary colors
Experimenting to show the appearance of motion
Conducted experiments on shape, form and the arrangement of color planes and black lines
Extended the color planes (color blocks) to give the illusion of stretching to infinity
The black lines gave the feeling of a solid structure
Tone and mood changed dramatically
Tableau No

11. Double line paintings Painting No. 9 1942 Example Questions:
STYLE:
To Show more energy, liveliness and playfulness:
began using multiple close black lines in his paintings
TASK: ( have the teacher help you, the TASK is IMPORTANT for Lesson plan ground work)
Step 1:
Count off the room 1-2, 1-2
Step 2:
All 1s line up and face the 2s
Step 3:
Turn to your partner
Step 4:
Hold your hands up, not touching
Step 5:
Move your hands back and forth
Step 6:
First, Now do this with your eyes closed ( like workshop)
Step 7:
Take turns with your eyes closed, see if you can tell when the hands are lined up
Bio:
Piet moved to London (1938) before the onset of WWII
Unfortunately, a bomb hit the house he was living in, causing Piet to move to New York (1940)
He moved with only his paintings and notebooks, as he had adopted a very minimalistic lifestyle
New York. he discovered boogie-woogie music (African-American style of piano-based blues
Example Questions:
Why did we play that hand game?
What did you feel when your eyes were closed? Could you feel the heat?
There was nothing there between your hands? (But yet there was something)
Could that heat be called “liveliness?”
Does anyone know what Negative and Positive Space is? (“The Heat” is really physical form Positive and Negative space)
Now, what is different about these paintings?
What did he use less of and more of? Less colored planes, more black lines.
How has this changed the feel of his paintings?
How do you feel about them?
Painting No
Double line paintings

12. Part of the New York subway system
New york state of mind
STYLE:
Flicker= to capture movement of the times and change
He began replacing black lines with color lines- a liberation of color!
Piet also began using colored adhesive tape to “sketch” his paintings,
allowed him to produce his art QUICKER
BIO:
Boogie-woogie music and Broadway life inspired
Consider Tempo and the spacing of the lines( Romare Bearden video, Wynton Marsalis, beat sounds)
Example Questions:
Do you think it looks more lively than his other paintings?
How do these two images look similar?
Do you think New York must have inspired him a lot? Why? How?
Part of the New York subway system
New York City I 1942

13. Boogie-Woogie Victory Boogie-Woogie 1944 (Unfinished)
STYLE:
Replaced color lines with flashing lines of color squares/bright colored grids with colored lines
New energy and complexity
Dissolved his style to a point where the lines and planes became indistinguishable
BIO:
New York absorbed all of Mondrian’s energy as he turned New York City into a dazzling mosaic of colored blocks
Example Questions:
How do you think the Boogie-Woogie paintings were inspired by New York, music, Broadway, etc.?
What does it make you think of? Music, bright lights, dancing, busy streets, movement?
How are these two images similar?
Do you think this painting has more movement to it?
Does it look more vibrant?
Victory Boogie-Woogie 1944 (Unfinished)
Birds Eye View of New York City