- Composition with Grid #1
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In 1917, Piet Mondrian helped to found the Dutch art group de Stijl (the Style), among the most idealistic and severe of the early Abstract movements. Driven by more than aesthetics, de Stijl aimed to unite the material and spiritual worlds through an art of pure geometry.
For Mondrian, a grid-pattern composition of horizontal and vertical lines could represent the universal harmony of the world. He saw the grid as a resolution to the opposing demands of the material and spiritual. Although Composition with Grid 1, 1918 appears to be a random sequence of squares and rectangles, X-ray photography has revealed that Mondrian first sketched a perfectly uniform grid of rectangles based on the classical golden section. This underlying grid then formed the scaffolding for the superimposed composition, giving the work an exceptional harmony of proportion. A nuance of mood and tone is established through the variations in gray and ochre glazes so that the ultimate effect is one of subtly shifting planes of color.
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.
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