Piet Mondrian
Composition with Grid #1

Public Domain

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Artist Piet Mondrian (Dutch, 1872–1944)Dutch, 1872–1944

CultureDutch

Titles

Composition with Grid #1

Date1918

PlaceNetherlands

MediumOil on canvas

Dimensions31 9/16 × 19 5/8 in. (80.2 × 49.8 cm)

Credit LineGift of Mr. and Mrs. Pierre Schlumberger

Object number63.16

Current Location

The Nancy and Rich Kinder Building

Gallery 203

Exposé

Explore Further

Department

Modern and Contemporary Art

Object Type

PAINTING

DescriptionPiet Mondrian was the leading figure
among the Dutch art group de Stijl (The
Style), among the most idealistic of the early
abstract movements. Driven by more than
aesthetics, Mondrian aimed to unite the
material and spiritual worlds through an
art of pure geometry. Composition with Grid #1
is dependent upon an underlying rectilinear
grid system, a defining aspect of Mondrian’s
work that gives this painting its unifying
harmony. The alternating warm ocher glazes
and cool matte grays further animate this
composition, while the lines that define
the grid are executed with a nuanced,
human touch.
ProvenanceJo D.A. Steijling, Laren, Netherlands; Mr. S. B. Slijper, Blaricum, Netherlands; Mr. G. David Thompson, Pittsburgh; [Galerie Beyeler Basel, Switzerland, 1959–1960]; [Galerie Jeanne Bucher, Paris, 1960]; purchased by Mr. and Mrs. Pierre Schlumberger, New York, until 1963; given to MFAH, 1963.

Exhibition HistoryHollandsche Kunstenaarskring, Amsterdam, 1919.

Galerie Jeanne Bucher, Paris, May–June 1960.

“The Art of Piet Mondrian,” Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, March 17–April 18, 1965.

“Piet Mondrian,” The Art Gallery of Toronto, February 12–May 20, 1966.

"Six Painters," The University of St. Thomas, February 27–April 2, 1967.

"Mondrian," Orangerie des Tuileries, Paris, January 18–March 31, 1969.

“Piet Mondrian: 1872–1944 Centennial Exhibition,” The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, October 7–June 6, 1971.

"Piet Mondrian," Kunstmuseum Bern, February 9–April 9, 1972.

"DeStijl 1917–1931, Visions of Utopia," Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, January 30–March 28, 1982; Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., April 18–June 27, 1982; Stedelijk Museum/Rijksmuseum Kroller-Muller, Amsterdam, August 8–October 3, 1982.

"The Art of the Netherlands in the 20th century (L’Art aux Pays Bas au Xxeme Siecle)," Musee d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, March 23–July 18, 1994.

“Masterpieces of European Painting from the 15th to 20th Centuries from The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, and the Sarah Campbell Blaffer Foundation," The Museum of Art, Ehime, Matsuyama, Japan, April 13–May 30, 1999; Chiba Prefectural Art Museum, 5 June 5–July 11, 1999; Mie Prefectural Art Museum, Tsu, July 17–August 22, 1999; Fukuoka Art Museum, August 27–October 3, 1999.

"Constructing Abstraction: Selections from the Permanent Collection," Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, May 20–September 23, 2007.

"Modern Art from the Collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston," Museo de Arte Moderno, Mexico City, December 12, 2007–April 6, 2008.

"Katsura: Picturing Modernism in Japanese Architecture; Photographs by Ishimoto Yasuhiro," Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, June 20–September 12, 2010.

"The invention of a new art. Mondrian – Van der Leck 1916–1919," Gemeentemuseum Den Haag, The Netherlands, February 11–May 21, 2017

"Contemporary Dutch Design: Selections from the Museum’s Collection," Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, May 19–November 25, 2018.
Inscriptions, Signatures and Marks

Signed and dated at lower left: "PM 18"

Cataloguing data may change with further research.

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