Image source: Wikimedia Commons (Public domain). View source
Composition II with Red, Blue and Yellow
Piet Mondrian · Surrealism, Dada & Abstract
- Artist
- Piet Mondrian (1872–1944)
- Date
- 1930
- Dimensions
- 46 x 46 cm
- Medium
- Oil on canvas
- Location
- Kunsthaus Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland
This small square painting is made only of thick black horizontal and vertical lines dividing a white ground into rectangles. A large red square dominates the upper right, a small blue rectangle sits at the lower left, and a little yellow block at the lower right.
A closer look
Mondrian reduced painting to its most basic elements: straight lines, right angles, the three primary colours and the 'non-colours' white, black and grey. He called this style Neo-Plasticism and believed it could express a universal harmony beyond individual feeling. The composition is asymmetrical yet perfectly balanced: the big red plane is countered by the smaller, intense blue and the tiny yellow. Every line and proportion was adjusted by eye, through long trial and error. These works became icons of modern design, influencing architecture, furniture, fashion and graphic design.