de Stijl

Picasso said some fantastic things. So did Mondrian and my, do I love Mondrian.


“What first captivated us does not captivate us afterward (like toys). If one has loved the surface of things for a long time, later on one will look for something new.... The interior of things shows through the surface; thus as we look at the surface the inner image is formed in our soul. It is this inner image that should be represented. For the natural surface of things is beautiful, but the imitation of it is without life.... Art is higher than reality and has no direct relation to reality. Between the physical sphere and the ethereal sphere there is a frontier where our senses stop functioning.... The spiritual penetrates the real... but for our senses these are two different things. To approach the spiritual in art, one will make as little use as possible of reality, because reality is opposed to the spiritual. We find ourselves in the presence of an abstract art. Art should be above reality, otherwise it would have no value for man.” - Mondrian, 1914