Defending Mondrian

Piet Mondrian was one of the most innovative artists of the nineteenth and twentieth  centuries.  He is the artist that introduced abstract art, which is art at it is simplest form.  Art at its simplest form-symmetry, perspective,color, and logic-contains defineable elements of mathematics as well.  So, then, is Piet Mondrian an artist or a mathematician, or both?    Piet Mondrian developed his own perception of art soon after he was able to walk!  His uncle gave him lessons at the tender age of 5.  That is where his interest began in art and abstractism.  Mondrian believed it was important to show abstract ways of representing reality.  He did this in most all of his works.     He has produced many important works that have affected art and the meaning of art.  Before introduced to cubism, Mondrian produced a series of paintings of trees.  In the first few paintings of trees, the trees were very natural and looked just like a normal tree.  In later paintings of trees, however, Mondrian started adding more vertical lines and less realistic branches.  Soon the tree paintings became totally abstract.   De Stijl is one of his works that had an important affect on the world. De Stijl means “the style” and  was considered to connect man with nature.  It was created by Mondrian, Theo Van Doesburg, and Bart Van Der Leck.  It was a radical movement based on the principals of intellectuallism and philosophy.  They used universal values and expressed them by geometric forms and primary colors.  This was at the center of the abstract paintings of the time.    Mondrian sought to create wonder within simplicity.  He wanted not only to create a new art but also a new perception of life.  Piet used harsh vertical and horizontal lines and primary colors to prove his point.  He believed by using primary colors, you were using colors that were not found in their purest form in nature, therefore were somewhat abstract.  Another reason for using lines and primary colors was so he could focus his mind away from the everyday world.  Mondrian’s work was very different than that of M.C. Escher’s because it was so abstract.  He saw his  art as pure and truthful. .   This purity of expression has connection to mathematics.  After being introduced to cubism, Mondrian used a lot of mathematical figures in his work.  For example, he used straight lines joined at right  angles because he believed this to be the angle of perfect equilibrium.   Mondrian’s art  is a pure form of pictoral mathematics.  In his work Diamond Painting in Red, Yellow, and Blue it looks as though it is not a three-dimensional space, but in fact is a very dynamic picture.  Every border and line is in perfect length of the rest.  This is intended to be seen as a way things should be, but never are.    Mondrian’s prevalent use of harsh, black lines is not shown in every piece he did. In Broadway Boogie Woogie, a very influential piece, he strays from the black lines but still manages an equilibrium.  Many mathematicians can see how closely abstract art and math are related.  Many believe the square is an abstract piece!  Since they are so closely related it is easy to see why many would think Mondrian was also a mathematician.     Throughout his numerous works and projects, Piet Mondrian has shown how engulfed he is in abstract art .  Abstract art takes you away from the impractical world into one consumed with practical means and in turn, Math does the same!