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Composition (No. 1) Gray-Red

Abstract line composition of black lines at right angles forming quadrants including a gray square at upper left and a gray rectangle and red rectangle at lower right, against a white background.
CC0 Public Domain Designation

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  • Abstract line composition of black lines at right angles forming quadrants including a gray square at upper left and a gray rectangle and red rectangle at lower right, against a white background.

Date:

1935

Artist:

Piet Mondrian
Dutch, 1872–1944

About this artwork

The roots of 20th-century abstract art can be traced to the late 19th century, when artists began to move away from the direct representation of objects toward the communication of emotional states or moods. In doing so, the formal properties of art—such visual elements as line, color, and composition—assumed a primary role in its production. After World War I, many artists, including Piet Mondrian, believed that abstract art could contribute to a more harmonious society by communicating in a universal, visual language. In the wake of the war’s destruction, artists associated with De Stijl (meaning, “the style”) in the Netherlands recognized the need for a break with the past, as well as a new aesthetic language to correspond to their utopian vision of the world. In 1917 Mondrian joined the De Stijl movement and began to develop a purely visual language of verticals and horizontals, restricting his compositions to predominantly off-white grounds divided by black rectilinear lines that framed smaller blocks of primary colors.

Status

On View, Gallery 393

Department

Modern Art

Artist

Piet Mondrian

Title

Composition (No. 1) Gray-Red

Place

Netherlands (Artist's nationality:)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

1935

Medium

Oil on canvas

Inscriptions

Signed and dated, l.r.: "PM 35"

Dimensions

57.5 × 55.6 cm (22 5/8 × 21 7/8 in.)

Credit Line

Gift of Mrs. Gilbert W. Chapman

Reference Number

1949.518

IIIF Manifest  The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

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https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/65821/manifest.json

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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