Piet Mondrian travelled further from realism than almost any painter of his generation. He began with Dutch landscapes and windmills, then reduced trees and buildings to lines and planes after meeting Cubism in Paris. By the early 1920s he had arrived at his signature style of black grids and blocks of primary colour. He believed this pure abstraction could express universal harmony. His influence spread far beyond painting into architecture, fashion and graphic design. Yves Saint Laurent's 1965 Mondrian dress is one famous example.
Key Milestones
1917: Co-founds the De Stijl movement
1920: Sets out his theory of Neoplasticism
1940: Moves to New York
1943: Completes Broadway Boogie Woogie
Pieter Cornelis Mondriaan (Dutch:; 7 March 1872 – 1 February 1944), known after 1911 as Piet Mondrian (US also; Dutch:), was a Dutch painter and art theoretician, who is regarded as one of the greatest artists of the 20th century.
Piet Mondrian's birthday is March 7. He was born on March 7, 1872 in Amersfoort, Netherlands.
How old was Piet Mondrian when he died?
Piet Mondrian died on February 1, 1944, aged 71.
Who shares a birthday with Piet Mondrian?
Famous people who share Piet Mondrian's March 7 birthday include Alessandro Manzoni, Maurice Ravel, Sanae Takaichi, Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk and Rachel Weisz.
