Piet Mondrian

Visual Arts Dutch 1872 – 1944 59 quotes

A Dutch painter and art theoretician, he is regarded as one of the pioneers of 20th-century abstract art, known for his grid-based paintings with primary colors.

Quotes by Piet Mondrian

In art, the search for universal truth comes before the search for an aesthetic form.

Neo-Plasticism in Pictorial Art 1917

The goal of art is to express the universal beauty through pure means.

De Stijl 1921

Life is a dynamic process, and art must reflect that dynamism in equilibrium.

Personal reflection 1935

The straight line is the purest expression of direction.

Writing 1919

Beauty lies in the harmony of opposites.

Essay 1920

The artist must eliminate the accidental to reach the essential.

Letter 1914

True art speaks a universal language.

Interview 1925

Space and form are interdependent; one defines the other.

Speech 1930

The primary colors and non-colors are the foundation of pure plastic expression.

Neo-Plasticism 1917

Art is not imitation, but creation of harmony.

Essay 1922

In the midst of chaos, seek the order that underlies all.

Personal reflection 1940

The rectangle is the most universal form.

Writing 1918

Feeling is the source of all true art.

Letter 1915

The evolution of art leads to abstraction.

De Stijl Manifesto 1920

Light reveals the inner structure of things.

Interview 1932

Harmony in art is the reconciliation of contradictions.

Essay 1921

The artist is a seeker of truth beyond appearance.

Neo-Plasticism 1919

Pure plastic art is the art of the future.

Book 1917

Life's meaning is found in balance and proportion.

Personal reflection 1944

The line divides space, creating rhythm and relation.

Writing 1925