Mondrian

by Taschen

Less is often more - such is Piet Mondrian's approach to art. His main pictorial elements are horizontals and verticals, his preferred colours yellow, red and blue. Throughout his life, Mondrian (1872-1944) applied these simple elements in his quest for "universal harmony". This publication in the Taschen Basic Art Series presents an extra-ordinary painter and art theoretician whose influence on architects and designers is as profound today as it ever was.

Genres: Art, Nonfiction, Biography, Art History, Design

95 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 1994

About the author

'Taschen is an art book publisher founded in 1980 by Benedikt Taschen in Cologne, Germany. It began as Taschen Comics publishing Benedikt's extensive comic collection. Taschen has been a noteworthy force in making lesser-seen art available to mainstream bookstores, including some fetishistic imagery, queer art, historical erotica, pornography and adult magazines (including multiple books with Playboy magazine). Taschen has helped bring this art into broader public view, by publishing these potentially controversial volumes alongside its more mainstream books of comics reprints, art photography, painting, design, fashion, advertising history, film, and architecture.' - Wikipedia

Reviews

[Exina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m a big fan of geometrical art, and it’s nice to know Mondrian’s theory behind it, him pushing the boundaries of art to extreme simplicity. The book presents some interesting details, like his relationship with Theo van Doesburg (another favorite of mine).



An informative, interesting book.

[Diz · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm a fan of Mondrian's art, so I was really happy to see a wide selection of his works offered in such an inexpensive volume. However, this book has a design problem. For some reason, the art that is discussed in the text is almost never on the same page as the text. This forces readers to continually flip back-and-forth as they read. This was so distracting that while I was reading I was thinking more about the design of the book than the works of Mondrian.

[Gemma · Rating 4 out of 5]

A través de este libro, tendremos la posibilidad de hacer un recorrido por la vida y obra de Piet Mondrian, desde sus inicios hasta su muerte, en 1944, dejando inacabado su último cuadro. Así pues, permite ver la evolución de su estilo pictórico, como éste va pasando del naturalismo al cubismo y, de éste, a la abstracción, etapa en la que no dejó de experimentar con los motivos y los temas por los cuales se le reconoce: la geometría, las líneas verticales y horizontales, los no-colores (blanco y negro), y los colores primarios (rojo, azul y amarillo).

Me ha parecido un libro muy interesante, pues me ha permitido conocer mejor la obra de Mondrian y su vida (que desconocía por completo). Sus cuadros siempre me han suscitado mucha curiosidad y gracias a esta breve “biografía pictórica” he podido satisfacer dicha necesidad, y con creces.

En definitiva, un libro que recomiendo para todas aquellas personas interesadas en Mondrian, pues es un libro muy completo (dada su brevedad) que ofrece una visión concisa y de calidad de la vida y obra del autor. Una vez más, felicitar a la editorial por la maravillosa edición. No dejéis de echar un ojo a su colección de arte, pues además tienen un precio muy asequible.

[Kristian-Alberto · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brilliant quick introduction to Mondrian. I am less impressed than expected, yet "Landscape with Tress", 1912, left me baffled and crying... so while I might have expected more on a theoretical level the paintings are truly extraordinary.

[Darmaila Wati · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book gives me much explaination more than i hope about Mondrian style--simple but difficult. Now i can really enjoy and see the beuatiful of the ines on Mondrian's painting.

[Sabrina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love it. It's clear and it keep it simple. The pics are great but I think it would be better if they were closer to the actual mention.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Concise and colorful biography of the life and works of Piet Mondrian, Dutch religious iconographer turned ex-pat turned pioneer of reductive abstract minimalism. (That's the abbreviated version).

[Andrea Bredice · Rating 4 out of 5]

Come tutta la collezione Basic Art di Taschen, questo piccolo hand-book, racconto per bene l’evoluzione del pensiero e della persona di Piet Mondrian. Non scende mai troppo nel dettaglio e non sfocia in tecnicismi artistici comprensibili a pochi, ma regala comunque un’ottima quantità di dettaglio, di chicche e curiosità, anche di contorno, sull’artista. Troverete comunque tutto, dall’inizio come pittore naturalista, alla rivista De Stijl, l’inizio delle critiche e il conseguente amore per il colore, il trasferimento a Parigi per poter essere nella stessa città di Picasso e Braque, il ritorno in Olanda, il ritorno a Parigi, l’amico Van Doesburg e infine il neoplasticismo. Ho letto questo libro prima di visitare una mostra dedicata a Mondrian al Mudec di Milano e l’ho trovato utilissimo per comprendere appieno la mostra stessa.

[Artù · Rating 4 out of 5]

Molto interessante seguire il percorso artistico di Mondrian, che parte da un piccolo paesino olandese rurale e religioso, per approdare poi a Parigi ed alla fine a New York.
Attraverso le sue opere si nota chiaramente come l’astrazione ed il rigore geometrico siano una ricerca ben ponderata che nasce dalle influenze che via via subisce e dalle riflessioni personali.
Le sue opere sono un continuo crescendo di sperimentazione e piccole innovazioni.
Particolarmente belle trovo le opere dell’ultimo periodo newyorkese, dove al rigore degli elementi geometrici aggiunge il caso ed il ritmo.
Il libro si lascia leggere con piacere, consigliato.

[Jordi Gran · Rating 4 out of 5]

A comprehensive introduction to Piet Mondrian and neoplasticism. I would have loved more details on his relation with Theo van Doesburg, but I guess this is just a book about the former, with just a few details about the latter. Goodreads does not list the renewed version of Taschen's Basic Arts Series (dubbed 2.0) which is the edition I own. It is an inexpensive collection with outstanding finishings and painstakingly curated content.

[klaus światowy · Rating 3 out of 5]

very good one but, for god's sake, there was one incredibly annoying thing - a terribly done composition of text and photographs. i had to constantly flip the pages back and forth to look at the painting that was being mentioned, even though it could have been done in a way in which all the pictures would be on the same pages as the text talking about them. honestly the only flaw

[Bram · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lezenswaardige introductie op Mondriaan uit de Basic Art-serie van Taschen. Deze kleine monografie biedt meer dan genoeg om het werk van de kunstenaar met een beter geïnformeerde blik te kunnen bekijken. Ik merkte dat ik tijdens het lezen anders ging kijken naar de vele in het boek afgebeelde schilderijen.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

Internal notes: The only way to understand Mondrian’s notable works of cubism and abstract art, and their historical relevance, is to know about his past. This book chronicle his life and artistic journey so you can properly appreciate and understand how he came to paint such abstract works.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting.

[Avis Black · Rating 1 out of 5]

If you're seen one Mondrian box, you've seen them all.

[Courtney · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was surprised, I thought most of it was going to be color blocking concept pieces but there were lovely portraits, naturescapes, windmills, and other slice of life works as well. Liked the pallet, good warmth and light.

[Silvia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Caro Mondrian,
all’università mi hai accompagnato come uno spirito guida, c’eri sempre nei miei progetti, partivo da te, in modo molto spontaneo, quasi fossi la chiave per aprire i fogli bianchi. Senza tralasciare il lavoro e i momenti di semplice disegno … sempre in testa.
•
Questa biografia mi ha intrigato.
La tua vita, le tue cadute, la ricerca del luogo in cui ispirarti, il legame con i tuoi genitori e la dottrina religiosa che ti sei portato nei tuoi quadri.
E poi l’arrivo alle tue geometrie, quasi con un gioco di scambi tra amici in un momento di fermento culturale.
•
Pensare che hai smaterializzato la città e poi, in tanti come me, hanno usato le tue maglie per ricrearla, i tuoi colori per caratterizzarla!
•
Il connubio con l’architettura e il design sfociato nella rivista “De Stijl”.
•
Per te l’arte doveva essere esperienza e questa l’hai cercata anche dove gli altri vedevano “errori tecnici”.
Volevi essere un pioniere e lo sei stato.
Esperienza e fantasia, perché bisognava lasciare spazio all’immaginario, non dare più un carattere compiuto alle opere!
•
Ecco in un mio momento di ricerca espressiva torni a farmi visita e nuovamente mi fornisci chiavi, questa volta per scattare fotografie.
•
Che dire: grazie come sempre!
La tua grande ammiratrice
Silvia

[Ruby · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book taught me that I actually do like Mondrian's art. It's very confident and bold and not at all restless; I do like restlessness in art, but sometimes it can be a bit much. It's also very impressive I think - I mean, it obviously looks very easy, but if you consider the time he lived in and the artistic traditions he grew up with. I like his paintings better everytime I see them and think of them.

However I do have quite a couple of problems with the book itself. First of all: Rembrandt was born in Leiden, not in Amsterdam. Even Wikipedia knows this, so this must mean that Deicher didn't even bother to check this. And when there's such a huge mistake, only on the second page, one does wonder whether the rest of the book isn't filled with mistakes as well. I assume that the basics are correct, but the details... I'm not sure.

But I didn't really read the details because it was rather boring. Mondrians art just kept changing and changing and why exactly this happened, je ne sais pas. Deicher also went on about Mondrian's vision and ideas on art, but never really bothered to fully and clearly explain what they were.

Lastly she compared a painting by Klimt with one of Mondrian. Sure, they do resemble each other, the image is quite identical. But I never considered the image very important in art: it's the energy that comes from the artwork that makes it unique. And Mondrian and Klimt have such different energies, that comparing seems completely pointless to me.

[Steph Mostav · Rating 4 out of 5]

Foi uma boa biografia da obra do cara (que é meu pintor favorito), cobriu bem a vida dele, as motivações que levaram às sucessivas mudanças de estilo e uma análise bacana sobre a maior parte da obra dele. Só não achei o texto assim tão bom. A escrita é tão insossa que desestimula, apesar do conteúdo ser de boa qualidade.

[Kayla · Rating 5 out of 5]

this was the best book ever i wish i could read more but i dont know how

[Joshua Friesen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful artwork.