Online Encyclopedia
De Stijl
De Stijl (pr. duh-stayl') (Dutch de Stijl) - was an art movement (also known as "neoplasticism"- the new plastic art) of the 1920s that sought to express a new Utopian ideal of spiritual harmony and order. It advocated pure abstraction and universality by a reduction to the essentials of form and colour- the vertical and the horizontal directions and the primary colors of red, blue and yellow along with black and white.
Piet Mondrian (Dutch, 1872-1944), the group's most renowned artist, published a manifesto titled Neo-Plasticism in 1920. Painter Theo van Doesburg (Dutch, 1883-1931) published a journal named De Stijl from 1917 to 1928, spreading the theories of the group, which also included the painter George Vantongerloo (Belgian,1886-1965) and the architects J.J.P. Oud (1890-1963) and Gerrit Rietveld (Dutch, 1888-1965).
In many of the works under this movement, the vertical and the horizontal lines tend to slide past each other and do not intersect- for example some of Mondrian's paintings, Rietveld's Schroeder House and Red Blue Chair .
The movement was influenced by the neoplatonic philosophy of the mathematician M. H. J. Schoenmaekers and his books. The term Neo-Plasticism was also his.
The work of De Stijl exerted tremendous influence on the Bauhaus and the International style.
It also influenced clothing and interior design.
Neoplasticists include:
- Piet Mondrian - 1872 - 1944
- Theo van Doesburg 1883-1931
- Ilya Bolotowsky - 1907-1981
- Marlow Moss 1890 - 1958
- Amédée Ozenfant 1886 - 1966
- Max Bill 1908 - 1994
- Jean Gorin 1899-1981
- Burgoyne Diller 1906-1965
- Georges Vantongerloo 1886-1965
For the 2000 indie rock album by The White Stripes, see De Stijl (album)