| De Stijl | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Theo van Doesburg,Composition VII (the three graces), 1917 | |
 Additional media | |
| Years active | 1917–1931 |
| Location | Netherlands |
| Major figures | Theo van Doesburg,Piet Mondrian,Gerrit Rietveld,J.J.P. Oud,Bart van der Leck |
| Influences | |
| Influenced | |
De Stijl (/dəˈstaɪl/,Dutch:[dəˈstɛil]; 'The Style') was a Dutchart movement founded in 1917 by a group of artists and architects based inLeiden (Theo van Doesburg,J.J.P. Oud),Voorburg (Vilmos Huszár,Jan Wils) andLaren (Piet Mondrian,Bart van der Leck).[1][2]
De Stijl was also the name of a journal – published by the Dutch painter, designer, writer, poet and criticTheo van Doesburg – that propagated the group's theories. Along with van Doesburg, the group's principal members were the paintersPiet Mondrian,Vilmos Huszár,Bart van der Leck, the architectsJ.J.P. Oud,Jan Wils,Gerrit Rietveld,Robert van 't Hoff, the sculptor and painterGeorges Vantongerloo, and the poet and writerAntony Kok.
Theart theory that formed the basis for the group's work was originally known asNieuwe Beelding in Dutch; it was later translated toNeoplasticism in English. This theory was subsequently extended to encompass the principles ofElementarism.[3]
Mondrian set forth the principles ofneoplasticism in his essay "Neo-Plasticism in Pictorial Art".[4] He wrote, "this new plastic idea will ignore the particulars of appearance, that is to say, natural form and colour. On the contrary, it should find its expression in the abstraction of form and colour, that is to say, in the straight line and the clearly defined primary colour". With these constraints, his art allowed only primary colours and non-colours, only squares and rectangles, only straight and horizontal or vertical lines.[5] The De Stijl movement initially adopted Mondrian's principles until around 1924 when it rejected some of them and adopted those ofElementarism, which included the use of dynamic diagonal lines, allowing colour to infuse more energy into a work, and the rejection of harmonious and balanced relationships.[6]
The name De Stijl is supposedly derived fromGottfried Semper'sDer Stil in den technischen und tektonischen Künsten oder Praktische Ästhetik (1861–1863), which Curl[7] suggests was mistakenly believed to advocatematerialism andfunctionalism.
Nieuwe beelding [new vision], orneoplasticism, saw itself as reaching beyond the changing appearance of natural things to bring an audience into intimate contact with an immutable core of reality, a reality that was not so much a visible fact as an underlying spiritual vision.[8] Initially, De Stijl proposed this ultimate simplicity and abstraction, both in architecture and painting, by using only straight horizontal and vertical lines and rectangular forms. Its vocabulary was limited to the primary colours,red,yellow, andblue, and the three primary values,black,white, andgrey. The works avoided symmetry and attained aesthetic balance by the use of opposition. This element of the tension embodied the second meaning ofstijl: 'a post,jamb or support'; this is best exemplified by the construction of crossing joints, most commonly seen incarpentry.
In many of the group's three-dimensional works, vertical and horizontal lines are positioned in layers or planes that do not intersect, thereby allowing each element to exist independently and unobstructed by other elements. This feature can be found in theRietveld Schröder House and theRed and Blue Chair.
De Stijl was influenced byCubist painting as well as by the mysticism and the ideas about "ideal" geometric forms (such as the "perfect straight line") in theneoplatonic philosophy ofM. H. J. Schoenmaekers. The De Stijl movement was also influenced byNeopositivism.[2] The works of De Stijl would influence theBauhaus style and theinternational style of architecture as well as clothing and interior design. However, it did not follow the general guidelines of an "-ism" (e.g.,Cubism,Futurism,Surrealism), nor did it adhere to the principles of art schools like the Bauhaus; it was a collective project, a joint enterprise that changed over time, resulting in new "elementary design" principles which Van Doesburg calledElementarism.[9]
Inmusic, De Stijl was an influence only on the work of composerJakob van Domselaer, a close friend of Mondrian. Between 1913 and 1916, he composed hisProeven van Stijlkunst ("Experiments in Artistic Style"),[10] inspired mainly by Mondrian's paintings. Thisminimalistic—and, at the time, revolutionary—music defined "horizontal" and "vertical" musical elements and aimed at balancing those two principles. Van Domselaer was relatively unknown in his lifetime, and did not play a significant role within De Stijl.
From the flurry of new art movements that followed theImpressionist revolutionary new perception of painting,Cubism arose in the early 20th century as an important and influential new direction. In the Netherlands, too, there was interest in this "new art". However, because the Netherlands remained neutral inWorld War I, Dutch artists were not able to leave the country after 1914 and were thus effectively isolated from the international art world—and in particular, fromParis, which was its centre at that time.
During that period, Theo van Doesburg started looking for other artists to set up ajournal and start an art movement. Van Doesburg was also a writer, poet, and critic, who had been more successful writing about art than working as an independent artist.[11] Quite adept at making new contacts due to his flamboyant personality and outgoing nature, he had many useful connections in the art world.
Around 1915,Van Doesburg started meeting the artists who would eventually become the founders of the journal. He first metPiet Mondrian at an exhibition inStedelijk Museum Amsterdam. Mondrian, who had moved to Paris in 1912 (and there, changed his name from "Mondriaan"), had been visiting the Netherlands when war broke out, and so could not return to Paris. Mondrian stayed in the artists' community ofLaren, where he metBart van der Leck and regularly sawM. H. J. Schoenmaekers. In 1915, Schoenmaekers publishedHet nieuwe wereldbeeld ("The New Worldview"), followed in 1916 byBeginselen der beeldende wiskunde ("Principles of Visual Mathematics"). These two publications would greatly influence Mondrian and other members of De Stijl.
Van Doesburg also knewJ. J. P. Oud and the Hungarian artistVilmos Huszár. In 1917 the cooperation of these artists, together with his friend the poet and musicianAntony Kok, resulted in the founding of De Stijl. The young architectGerrit Rietveld joined the group in 1918. At its height De Stijl had 100 members and the journal had a circulation of 300.[12]
During those first few years, the group was still relatively homogeneous, although Van der Leck left in 1918 due to artistic differences of opinion.Manifestos were being published, signed by all members. The social and economic circumstances of the time formed an important source of inspiration for their theories, and their ideas about architecture were heavily influenced byHendrik Petrus Berlage andFrank Lloyd Wright.
The nameNieuwe Beelding was a term first coined in 1917 by Mondrian, who wrote a series of twelve articles calledDe Nieuwe Beelding in de schilderkunst ("Neo-Plasticism in Painting") that were published in the journalDe Stijl. In 1920 he published a book titledLe Néo-Plasticisme.[13]
Around 1921, the group's character started to change. From the time of van Doesburg's association withBauhaus, other influences started playing a role. These influences were mainlyMalevich and RussianConstructivism, to which not all members agreed. In 1924 Mondrian broke with the group after van Doesburg proposed the theory ofElementarism, suggesting that a diagonal line is more vital than horizontal and vertical ones. In addition, the De Stijl group acquired many new "members".Dadaist influences, such asI. K. Bonset's poetry andAldo Camini's "antiphilosophy" generated controversy as well. Only after Van Doesburg's death was it revealed that Bonset and Camini were two of his pseudonyms.
Theo van Doesburg died inDavos, Switzerland, in 1931. His wife, Nelly, administered his estate.Because of van Doesburg's pivotal role within De Stijl, the group did not survive. Individual members remained in contact, but De Stijl could not exist without a strong central character. Thus, it may be wrong to think of De Stijl as a close-knit group of artists. The members knew each other, but most communication took place by letter. For example, Mondrian and Rietveld never met in person.
Many, though not all, artists did stay true to the movement's basic ideas, even after 1931. Rietveld, for instance, continued designing furniture according to De Stijl principles, while Mondrian continued working in the style he had initiated around 1917. Van der Leck, on the other hand, went back to figurative compositions after his departure from the group.
The De Stijl influence on architecture remained considerable long after its inception;Mies van der Rohe was among the most important proponents of its ideas. Between 1923 and 1924,Rietveld designed the Rietveld Schröder House, the only building to have been created completely according to De Stijl principles. Examples of Stijl-influenced works byJ.J.P. Oud can be found inRotterdam (theCafé De Unie) andHook of Holland (Arbeiderswoningen). Other examples include theEames House by Charles and Ray Eames, and the interior decoration for theAubette dance hall in Strasbourg, designed by Sophie Taeuber-Arp, Jean Arp and van Doesburg.
Works by De Stijl members are scattered all over the world, but De Stijl-themed exhibitions are organised regularly. Museums with large De Stijl collections include theKunstmuseum inThe Hague (which owns the world's most extensive, although not exclusively De Stijl-related, Mondrian collection[14]) andAmsterdam'sStedelijk Museum, where many works by Rietveld and Van Doesburg are on display. TheCentraal Museum ofUtrecht has the largest Rietveld collection worldwide; it also owns the Rietveld Schröder House, Rietveld's adjacent "show house", and the Rietveld Schröder Archives.
The movement inspired the design aesthetics ofRumyantsevo andSalaryevo stations ofMoscow Metro opened in 2016.[15]
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