On the De Stijl Movement

            The De Stijl movement in graphic design began in the Netherlands in the late summer of 1917.  Many artists and architects, including Théo van Doesburg, Piet Mondrian, Bark Anthony van der Leck, Vilmos Huszár, and Jacobus Johannes Pieter Oud, founded this movement. “De Stijl artists sought universal laws of balance and harmony for art, which could then be a prototype for a new social order” (Meggs, 313). Mondrian and van Doesburg in particular worked especially hard to further the philosophy of the movement through their work.

            The philosophy of the De Stijl movement developed from the paintings of Mondrian. De Stijl artists “believed that beauty arose from the absolute purity of the work. They sought to purify art by banning naturalistic expression. The content of their work was to be universal harmony, the order that pervades the universe” (Megg, 313). They also “sought expression of the mathematical structure of the universe and the universal harmony of nature” (Megg, 313). Therefore, their philosophy was to create art that showed the universe in its most pure and natural form by purifying their artwork to its core.

            Mondrian’s paintings showed this philosophy through his symbolic style developed in 1911. This style was influenced both by Vincent Van Gough and by the movement of cubism (Megg 313). Mondrian’s way of embodying the philosophy of the De Stijl movement was to create art that was “pure, geometric expression” (Megg, 313). He was especially influenced by the philosopher M. H. J. Shoenmakers, who defined horizontal and vertical lines as, “the two fundamental opposites shaping our world”, and the primary colors, red, blue, and yellow, as, ”the three principle colors” (Megg, 313). Mondrian took to these definitions and incorporated horizontal and vertical lines, as well as the primary colors almost exclusively in his work, such as the piece featured below (Fig. 2). Mondrian believed that, “the cubists had not accepted the logical consequences of their discoveries; this was the evolution of abstraction toward its ultimate goal, the expression of pure reality” (Megg, 313).

(Fig. 1) De Stijl artist Piet Mondrian

(Fig. 2) Piece by Piet Mondrian.

(Source http://karolisbikinas.blogspot.com/2012/02/piet-mondrian.html)

            Théo van Doesburg was another De Stijl artist who applied the philosophy of the De Stijl movement to “architecture, sculpture, typography and design” (Megg, 314). Along with his own personal art, van Doesburg also worked at editing and publishing De Stijl, a journal that from 1917 to 1931 worked to spread the philosophy of the De Stijl movement around the world, to a bigger and broader audience. His idea for this was that “the spirit of the art could then permeate society through architecture, product, and graphic design” (Megg, 314).

(Fig. 3) De Stijl artist  Théo van Doesburg

(Source: http://www.jbdesign.it/idesignpro/Theo%20Van%20Doesburg.html)

            Van Doesburg utilized many of the same methods as Mondrian in his work in order to spread the philosophy of De Stijl. In his poster design and typographic letter form design especially, van Doesburg utilized the horizontal and vertical lines that also appeared in Mondrian’s work, as well as the use of primary colors. In his letter forms especially, curved lines were completely eliminated, as can be seen in the example below (Fig. 4), and sans-serif fonts were favored (Megg, 315). In his architectural designs, van Doesburg utilized “planes in space with dynamic asymmetrical relationships” (Megg, 315). 

(Fig. 4) Letter form design by Théo van Doesburg

(Source: http://natasha-modernism.blogspot.com/2011/05/inspired-by-geometric-art-and.html)

(Fig. 5) Architectural design by Théo van Doesburg

(Source: http://www.jbdesign.it/idesignpro/Theo%20Van%20Doesburg.html)

            While the De Stijl movement did not survive past the death of van Doesburg in 1931, it’s philosophy continued for many years, and opened the doors to new art movements to take the lead in creating a new social order.

Megg, Philip B. Megg's History of Graphic Design. 5th ed. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2012. 200-202. Print.