Mondrian : the art of destruction

This is an analysis of the interrelation between the abstract artist Mondrian's paintings, and his theories on art and life as expressed in his public writings and largely unpublished letters. Mondrian's art was not based on reasoning or calculation (on the contrary, intuition was central to his concept of the artistic process), but he always felt a strong urge to position his art in a wider cultural and philosophical context. Central to his thought was the theosophical notion of evolution, which required the destruction of the old to make room for the new - in life, in society, and in art.