Redefining Art
Rather than an architectural movement, De Stijl began primarily as a social, artistic and philosophical movement.
In 1911, Piet Mondrian moved to Paris and was influenced by the Cubist style of Picasso. Paintings such as “Grey Tree” clearly reflected his experimentation with Cubism, but he later turned to a style dominated by geometric forms and interconnecting planes.
What separates Mondrian from the Cubists was his attempt to combine his paintings with his own spiritual philosophies. During World War I, Mondrian, with the help of Theo van Doesburg, searched for a new abstraction of art. They longed for an art that conceptualized the natural law of the universe. Thus, De Stijl was born.
In a letter to H.P. Bremmer in 1914, Mondrian stated the basis of his theory:
“I construct lines and color combinations on a flat surface, in order to express general beauty with the utmost awareness. Nature (or, that which I see) inspires me, puts me, as with any painter, in an emotional state so that an urge comes about to make something, but I want to come as close as possible to the truth and abstract everything from that, until I reach the foundation (still just an external foundation!) of things… I believe it is possible that, through horizontal and vertical lines constructed with awareness, but not with calculation, led by high intuition, and brought to harmony and rhythm, these basic forms of beauty, supplemented if necessary by other direct lines or curves, can become a work of art, as strong as it is true.”
While the movement itself was specifically influenced by Mondrian’s Composition III, the Bauhaus movement expanded upon it ten-fold. Mondrian’s use of grid based patterns and strong vertical contrast laid the foundation for De Stijl and eventually the Bauhaus movement (coincidentally, Mondrian later studied at the Bauhaus School). De Stijl became one of the most influential movements of the 20th century, and it eventually led designers toward a modern approach to design, rather than the Expressionist approach.
The shift to modernism led designers towards Walter Gropius’ Bauhaus movement. Founder and architect of the Bauhaus School, Gropius believed in radical simplification of materials, rejection of ornaments, and honest construction. These beliefs stemmed directly from the ideas of De Stijl and of Mondrian’s personal philosophies. In 1922, Gropius worked with Theo van Doesburg to create an exhibit to promote De Stijl and to prove its importance to the Bauhaus movement. Gropius later designed the Bauhaus building and the Gropius house, both of which are pure Bauhaus/De Stijl styled structures.
Gerrit Rietveld’s own work reflected the concept of De Stijl as a whole and influenced Gropius during the mid-1920s. However, the late Bauhaus movement leaned to more modernized, industrialized architecture that De Stijl never saw due to its death in 1931.
The differences in the movements stem from the two different historical eras and the Bauhaus’ reformation of De Stijl’s ideas. Rietveld’s work and philosophies were absorbed in the overall history of modernistic Gropius architecture and in architectural practice in general. The contributions from Piet Mondrian, Gerrit Rietveld, and Walter Gropius ultimately led the world to a modern architectural era that has remained extraordinarily significant to this day.
