Cubism did not accept the logical consequences of its own discoveries; it was not developing abstraction towards its own goal, the expression of pure reality.
Piet MondrianRead
Experience was my only teacher; I knew little of the modern art movement. When I first saw the works of the Impressionists, van Gogh, van Dongen, and Fauves, I admired it. But I had to seek the true way alone.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Experience can be a powerful teacher, especially in understanding art and its movements.
Piet Mondrian reflects on his journey of learning about modern art, emphasizing that while he admired the works of influential movements and artists like the Impressionists and Fauves, his personal experience and exploration were crucial in truly comprehending and finding his own artistic path. This highlights the importance of self-discovery and personal interpretation in artistic education.
Themes
ArtExperienceImpressionismLearningModern Art
In practice
Example use cases
In an art class, discussing the importance of personal exploration in understanding styles like Impressionism.
More from Piet Mondrian
All quotes →I think you too recognize the important relationship between philosophy and art, and it is just this relationship that most painters deny. The great masters do grasp it, unconsciously; but I believe that a painter's conscious spiritual knowledge will have a much greater influence upon his art, and that it would be due only to a weakness in him, or lack of genius, should this spiritual knowledge be harmful to his art.
Piet MondrianRead
One can rightly speak of an evolution in plastic art. It is of the greatest importance to note this fact, for it reveals the true way of art - the only path along which we can advance.
Piet MondrianRead
Vertical and horizontal lines are the expression of two opposing forces; they exist everywhere and dominate everything; their reciprocal action constitutes 'life'. I recognized that the equilibrium of any particular aspect of nature rests on the equivalence of its opposites.
Piet MondrianRead
The emotion of beauty is always obscured by the appearance of the object. Therefore, the object must be eliminated from the picture.
Piet MondrianRead
The truly modern artist is aware of abstraction in an emotion of beauty.
Piet MondrianRead
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