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Architecture in English II
Lecture 7: The Art Nouveau and De Stijl
•Hector Guimard
•H. P. Berlage
•Peter Behrens
•Gerritt Reitveld
•Charles Rennie Mackintosh
•Antonio Gaudi
Lecture 6: The Art Nouveau and DeStijl
•The Decorative Arts and Utilitarian Objects
•Arts and Crafts Movement
•Influence of Vienna
•Influence of Japan
•Influence of the Chicago School and
Influences and Developments
Date: 1899 AD Architect: Otto Wagner
The Kaiser Pavilion
Wagner Apartments - Vienna
Date: 1898 - 99 AD Architect: Otto Wagner
Wagner Apartments - Vienna
Date: 1898 - 99 AD Architect: Otto Wagner
Date: 1897 - 98 AD Architect: Joseph Maria Olbrich
Secession House - Vienna
Date: 1909 - 10 AD Architect: Adolf Loos
Loos House - Vienna
Date: 1909 - 10 AD Architect: Adolf Loos
Loos House - Vienna
Date: 1912 - 13 AD Architect: Adolf Loos
Scheu House - Vienna
Date: 1889 AD Architect: Louis Sullivan
Carson Pirie Scott Store - Chicago, Illinois
Date: 1891 AD Architect: Louis Sullivan ( Adler and Sullivan)
Wainwright Building - St. Louis, Missouri
Date: 1891 AD Architect: Louis Sullivan ( Adler and Sullivan)
Wainwright Building - St. Louis, Missouri
Date: 1894 - 96 AD Architect: Louis Sullivan ( Adler and Sullivan)
The Guaranty Building- Buffalo, New York
Date: 1897 Architect - Victor Horta
Maison du Peuple -Paris
Date: 1897 Architect - Victor Horta
Maison du Peuple -Paris
Date: 1897 Architect - Victor Horta
Maison du Peuple -Paris
Date: 1897 Architect - Victor Horta
Maison du Peuple -Paris
Date: 1897 Architect - Victor Horta
Maison du Peuple -Paris
Date: 1897 Architect - Victor Horta
Maison du Peuple -Paris
Date: 1897 Architect - Victor Horta
Maison du Peuple -Paris
Date: 1897 Architect - Victor Horta
Maison du Peuple -Paris
Date: 1895 -1900 Architect - Victor Horta
Light Fixture
Date: 1895 -1900 Architect - Victor Horta
Light Fixture
Date: 1895 -1900 Architect - Victor Horta
Chair
Date: 1900 Architect - Hector Guimard
Paris Metro - Abbesses Station
Date: 1900 Architect - Hector Guimard
Paris Metro
Date: 1900 Architect - Hector Guimard
Paris Metro - Porte Dauphine Station
Date: 1900 Architect - Hector Guimard
Paris Metro - Porte Dauphine Station
Date: 1900 Architect - Hector Guimard
Paris Metro - Porte Dauphine Station
Date: 1900 Architect - Hector Guimard
Paris Metro - Porte Dauphine Station
Date: 1900 Architect - Hector Guimard
Paris Metro - Porte Dauphine Station
Date: 1900 Architect - Hector Guimard
Paris Metro - Porte Dauphine Station
Date: 1900 Architect - Hector Guimard
Paris Metro - Porte Dauphine Station
Date: 1900 Architect - Hector Guimard
Paris Metro - Porte Dauphine Station
Date: 1900 Architect - Hector Guimard
Paris Metro - Porte Dauphine Station
Date: 1897 - 1909 Architect - H. P. Berlage
Amsterdam Stock Exchange - Amsterdam, Holland
Date: 1897 - 1909 Architect - H. P. Berlage
Amsterdam Stock Exchange - Amsterdam, Holland
Date: 1897 - 1909 Architect - H. P. Berlage
Amsterdam Stock Exchange - Amsterdam, Holland
Date: 1897 - 1909 Architect - H. P. Berlage
Amsterdam Stock Exchange - Amsterdam, Holland
Date: 1897 - 1909 Architect - H. P. Berlage
Amsterdam Stock Exchange - Amsterdam, Holland
Date: 1897 - 1909 Architect - H. P. Berlage
Amsterdam Stock Exchange - Amsterdam, Holland
Date: 1897 - 1909 Architect - H. P. Berlage
Amsterdam Stock Exchange - Amsterdam, Holland
Date: 1897 - 1909 Architect - H. P. Berlage
Amsterdam Stock Exchange - Amsterdam, Holland
Date: 1897 - 1909 Architect - H. P. Berlage
Amsterdam Stock Exchange - Amsterdam, Holland
Date: 1897 - 1909 Architect - H. P. Berlage
Amsterdam Stock Exchange - Amsterdam, Holland
Date: 1897 - 1909 Architect - H. P. Berlage
Amsterdam Stock Exchange - Amsterdam, Holland
Date: 1897 - 1909 Architect - H. P. Berlage
Amsterdam Stock Exchange - Amsterdam, Holland
Date: 1902 Architect - Peter Behrens
Behrens House - Darmstadt, Germany
Date: 1902 Architect - Peter Behrens
Behrens House - Darmstadt, Germany
Date: 1909 Architect - Peter Behrens
AEG Turbine Factory - Berlin, Germany
Date: 1909 Architect - Peter Behrens
AEG Turbine Factory - Berlin, Germany
Date: 1909 Architect - Peter Behrens
AEG Turbine Factory - Berlin, Germany
Date: 1909 Architect - Peter Behrens
AEG Turbine Factory - Berlin, Germany
Date: 1909 Architect - Peter Behrens
AEG Turbine Factory - Berlin, Germany
Date: 1909 Architect - Peter Behrens
AEG Turbine Factory - Berlin, Germany
Date: 1909 Architect - Peter Behrens
AEG Turbine Factory - Berlin, Germany
Date: 1909 Architect - Peter Behrens
AEG Turbine Factory - Berlin, Germany
Date: 1909 Architect - Peter Behrens
AEG Turbine Factory - Berlin, Germany
Date: 1909 Architect - Peter Behrens
AEG Turbine Factory - Berlin, Germany
Date: 1902 Architect - Peter Behrens
Utilitarian Objects
Date: 1902 Architect - Peter Behrens
Utilitarian Objects
Date: 1902 Architect - Peter Behrens
Utilitarian Objects
Date: 1913 Architect - Peter Behrens
AEG Flammeco-Lampen Brochure
Date: 1913 Architect - Peter Behrens
AEG Flammeco-Lampen Brochure
Date: 1913 Architect - Peter Behrens
AEG Flammeco-Lampen
Date: 1909 Architect - Peter Behrens
AEG - Tea Kettle
Date: 1929 - 1931 Architect - Peter Behrens
Berolina Office Building - Berlin
Date: 1909 - Frank Lloyd Wright
Robie House
Date: 1909 - Frank Lloyd Wright
Robie House
Date: 1913 - Theo van Doesburg
House Composition
Date: 1913 - Piet Mondrian
Oval Composition
Date: 1913 - Piet Mondrian
Color Planes
Date: 1917 - Piet Mondrian
Composition with Line
Date: 1917 - Piet Mondrian
Composition with Line and Color
Date: 1922 - Piet Mondrian
Composition #2
Date: 1922 - Piet Mondrian
Composition #2
Date: 1922 - Piet Mondrian
Composition #IV
Date: 1918 - Piet Mondrian
Tree
Date: 1918 - Piet Mondrian
Red Tree
Date: 1918 - Piet Mondrian
Grey Tree
Date: 1924 Architect - Gerritt Reitveld
Schroeder House - Rotterdam , Holland
Date: 1924 Architect - Gerritt Reitveld
Schroeder House - Rotterdam , Holland
Date: 1924 Architect - Gerritt Reitveld
Schroeder House - Rotterdam , Holland
Date: 1924 Architect - Gerritt Reitveld
Schroeder House - Rotterdam , Holland
Date: 1924 Architect - Gerritt Reitveld
Schroeder House - Rotterdam , Holland
Date: 1924 Architect - Gerritt Reitveld
Schroeder House - Rotterdam , Holland
Date: 1924 Architect - Gerritt Reitveld
Schroeder House - Rotterdam , Holland
Date: 1924 Architect - Gerritt Reitveld
Schroeder House - Rotterdam , Holland
Date: 1924 Architect - Gerritt Reitveld
Schroeder House - Rotterdam , Holland
Date: 1924 Architect - Gerritt Reitveld
Schroeder House - Rotterdam , Holland
Date: 1924 Architect - Gerritt Reitveld
Schroeder House - Rotterdam , Holland
Date: 1924 Architect - Gerritt Reitveld
Schroeder House - Rotterdam , Holland
Date: 1924 Architect - Gerritt Reitveld
Schroeder House - Rotterdam , Holland
Date: 1924 Architect - Gerritt Reitveld
Schroeder House - Rotterdam , Holland
Date: 1924 Architect - Gerritt Reitveld
Schroeder House - Rotterdam , Holland
Date: 1924 Architect - Gerritt Reitveld
Schroeder House - Rotterdam , Holland
Date: 1924 Architect - Gerritt Reitveld
Schroeder House - Rotterdam , Holland
Date: 1924 Architect - Gerritt Reitveld
Reitveld Chair
Date: 1924 Architect - Gerritt Reitveld
Reitveld Table
Date: 1924 Architect - Gerritt Reitveld
Reitveld Chair
Date: 1924 Architect - Gerritt Reitveld
Reitveld Baby Chair
Date: 1902 - 03 AD Architect: Charles Rennie Mackintosh
Hill House
Date: 1902 - 03 AD Architect: Charles Rennie Mackintosh
Hill House
Date: 1902 - 03 AD Architect: Charles Rennie Mackintosh
Hill House
Date: 1902 - 03 AD Architect: Charles Rennie Mackintosh
Hill House
Date: 1902 - 03 AD Architect: Charles Rennie Mackintosh
Hill House
Date: 1902 - 03 AD Architect: Charles Rennie Mackintosh
Hill House
Date: 1902 - 03 AD Architect: Charles Rennie Mackintosh
Hill House
Date: 1902 - 03 AD Architect: Charles Rennie Mackintosh
Hill House
Date: 1896 - 1909 AD Architect: Charles Rennie Mackintosh
Glasgow School of Art
Date: 1896 - 1909 AD Architect: Charles Rennie Mackintosh
Glasgow School of Art
Date: 1896 - 1909 AD Architect: Charles Rennie Mackintosh
Glasgow School of Art
Date: 1896 - 1909 AD Architect: Charles Rennie Mackintosh
Glasgow School of Art
Date: 1896 - 1909 AD Architect: Charles Rennie Mackintosh
Glasgow School of Art
Park Guell - Barcelona, Spain
Date: 1900 - 14 AD Architect: Antonio Gaudi
Park Guell - Barcelona, Spain
Date: 1900 - 14 AD Architect: Antonio Gaudi
Park Guell - Barcelona, Spain
Date: 1900 - 14 AD Architect: Antonio Gaudi
Park Guell - Barcelona, Spain
Date: 1900 - 14 AD Architect: Antonio Gaudi
Park Guell - Barcelona, Spain
Date: 1900 - 14 AD Architect: Antonio Gaudi
Park Guell - Barcelona, Spain
Date: 1900 - 14 AD Architect: Antonio Gaudi
Park Guell - Barcelona, Spain
Date: 1900 - 14 AD Architect: Antonio Gaudi
Casa Mila - Barcelona, Spain
Date: 1905 - 10 AD Architect: Antonio Gaudi
Casa Mila - Barcelona, Spain
Date: 1905 - 10 AD Architect: Antonio Gaudi
Casa Mila - Barcelona, Spain
Date: 1905 - 10 AD Architect: Antonio Gaudi
Casa Mila - Barcelona, Spain
Date: 1905 - 10 AD Architect: Antonio Gaudi
Casa Mila - Barcelona, Spain
Date: 1905 - 10 AD Architect: Antonio Gaudi
Casa Mila - Barcelona, Spain
Date: 1905 - 10 AD Architect: Antonio Gaudi
Casa Mila - Barcelona, Spain
Date: 1905 - 10 AD Architect: Antonio Gaudi
Casa Mila - Barcelona, Spain
Date: 1905 - 10 AD Architect: Antonio Gaudi
Casa Mila - Barcelona, Spain
Date: 1905 - 10 AD Architect: Antonio Gaudi
Casa Mila - Barcelona, Spain
Date: 1905 - 10 AD Architect: Antonio Gaudi
Casa Mila - Barcelona, Spain
Date: 1905 - 10 AD Architect: Antonio Gaudi
Casa Mila - Barcelona, Spain
Date: 1905 - 10 AD Architect: Antonio Gaudi
Casa Mila - Barcelona, Spain
Date: 1905 - 10 AD Architect: Antonio Gaudi
Antonio GaudiThe influences on Gaudi are derived from three primary sources: Viollet le Duc Ruskin and Wagner. Along with his Mediterranean influences and the Moorish architecture of Spain he put forth two completely different ideas into his architecture. The idea of designing in a vernacular manner that reflected Traditional Spanish buildings and using architecture as an artistic expression in totally new forms. Gaudiʼs main benefactor was Eusebio Guell. They were Catalan separatists and very anti-Madrid.
His work reflected structural rationalism that was exhibited in the Gothic revival particularly in thee cathedral architecture. When one adds his indigenous influences such as the Islamic and early Spanish work.
Park Guell is perhaps one of his best examples. It is here that a park raised above the ground with a great view of its surroundings. The serpentine bench encompasses the the entire space. The tile was used to show the Barcelona tradition of tile work and was a homage to those who tile for a living.
Casa Mila shows Gaudi playing with the rational grid of the Barcelona city. The undulating facade is meant to evoke a sense that this is a building that has been shaped by nature and time. It is as if the sea had its way with a formal block of material and over time shaped it to its whim. The balcony handrails evoke images of seaweed thrown up by the sea on to the building. It is about taking a material and transforming it into a powerful image.
Hendrik Petrus BerlagePracticed architecture in Holland for 50 years. He was relatively unknown but this allowed him to keep his design principles intact and devoid of the alien taste of an unknowing middle class. He received his education in Zurich and was taught by followers of Semper. His work is extremely rational and disciplined.
In the Amsterdam Stock Exchange building Berlage stressed the importance of space, the use of walls as dividers of space as well as proportioning system. His view about material in this case primarily brick, show us that he had faith and appreciation for the craft of the bricklayer. In some ways he is obviously influenced by Adolf Loos in the sense that he feels the work of the crafter and the beauty of the material should be highlighted.
ʻBefore all else the wall must be shown naked in all its sleek beauty and anything fixed on it must be shunned as an embarrassment.ʼ ʻThe art of the master builder lies in this, in the creation of space , not the sketching of facades. A spatial envelop is established by means of walls, whereby space...is manifested according to the complexity of the walling..ʼ
The load bearing brick structure was precisely articulated in accordance with structural rationalism. All the construction is clearly articulated to show how the construction works in a rational way. For example the manner in which a a stone is corbelled out to reach a truss.
Hector GuimardWas influenced by Labrouste and the structural rationalism that was a fundmental part of architecture training in France at the time. The fundamentals of his work are very much in line with the ideas he was trained. However, his approach to ornamentation and decoration were unique. He was searching for the ʻnative styleʼ that reflected location, usage and national spirit. He firmly believed in the idea of vernacular architecture and that buildings need to reflect the time and the places. Germans, Englishmen, and Belgians can form their own ideas that are unique to their place and time. But the French must be French.
What Guimard seized on was the idea a style that loose, rustic, and expressed mixed-media was to be something that we associate with French ideas about art and culture. When he was chosen to design the entrances for the Paris Metro he really showed how something could emerge from the ground like a plant into the urban landscape. The elements used oin the construction reflect nature in the midst of urbanity.
Charles Rennie MackintoshIs widely considered on of the most influential architects of the late 1800s and early 20th century. In 1896 along with his wife Margaret Macdonald sister-in-law and Herbert McNair they had shown thier designs and crafts at the London Arts and Crafts Exhibition and received high acclaim. The four had been making furnishings since 1894 and this included graphic work, clocks and scones as well as chairs tables and cabinets.
The origins of his architecture are founded in the Arts and Crafts movement of the late 19th century and Gothic Revival. It was here that the idea that the architecture was a complete working of craft. Although he was influenced by the Gothic Revival it is not clearly reflected in his architecture
Mackintosh lived most of his life in the city of Glasgow. Located on the banks of the River Clyde, during the Industrial Revolution, the city had one of the greatest production centres of heavy engineering and shipbuilding in the world. As the city grew and prospered, a faster response to the high demand for consumer goods and arts was necessary. Industrialized, mass-produced items started to gain popularity. Along with the Industrial Revolution, Asian style and emerging modernist ideas also influenced Mackintosh's designs. When the Japanese isolationist regime softened, they opened themselves to globalization resulting in notable Japanese influence around the world. Glasgowʼs link with the eastern country became particularly close with shipyards building at the River Clyde being exposed to Japanese navy and training engineers. Japanese design became more accessible and gained great popularity. In fact, it became so popular and so incessantly appropriated and reproduced by Western artists, that the Western World's fascination and preoccupation with Japanese art coined the new term, Japonism or Japonisme.
This style was admired by Mackintosh because of: its restraint and economy of means rather than ostentatious accumulation; its simple forms and natural materials rather than elaboration and artifice; the use of texture and light and shadow rather than pattern and ornament. In the old western style furniture was seen as ornament that displayed the wealth of its owner and the value of the piece was established according to the length of time spent creating it. In the Japanese arts furniture and design focused on the quality of the space, which was meant to evoke a calming and organic feeling to the interior.
At the same time a new philosophy concerned with creating functional and practical design was emerging throughout Europe: the so-called "modernist ideas". The main concept of the Modernist movement was to develop innovative ideas and new technology: design concerned with the present and
the future, rather than with history and tradition. Heavy ornamentation and inherited styles were discarded. Even though Mackintosh became known as the ʻpioneerʼ of the movement, his designs were far removed from the bleak utilitarianism of Modernism. His concern was to build around the needs of people: people seen, not as masses, but as individuals who needed not a machine for living in but a work of art. Mackintosh took his inspiration from his Scottish upbringing and blended them with the flourish of Art Nouveau and the simplicity of Japanese forms.
While working in architecture, Charles Rennie Mackintosh developed his own style: a contrast between strong right angles and floral-inspired decorative motifs with subtle curves,
Gerritt ReitveldRietveld was born in Utrecht in 1888 as the son of a joiner. He left school at 11 to be apprenticed to his father and enrolled at night school[1] before working as a draughtsman for C. J. Begeer, a jeweller in Utrecht, from 1906 to 1911.[2] By the time he opened his own furniture workshop in 1917, Rietveld had taught himself drawing, painting and model-making. He afterwards set up in business as a cabinet-maker.[3]
Rietveld designed his famous Red and Blue Chair in 1917. Hoping that much of his furniture would eventually be mass-produced rather than handcrafted, Rietveld aimed for simplicity in construction.[4] In 1918, he started his own furniture factory, and changed the chair's colors after becoming influenced by the 'De Stijl' movement, of which he became a member in 1919, the same year in which he became an architect. The contacts that he made at De Stijl gave him the opportunity to exhibit abroad as well. In 1923, Walter Gropius invited Rietveld to exhibit at the Bauhaus.[5] He designed his first building, the Rietveld Schröder House, in 1924, in close collaboration with the owner Truus Schröder-Schräder. Built in Utrecht on the Prins Hendriklaan 50, the house has a conventional ground floor, but is radical on the top floor, lacking fixed walls but instead relying on sliding walls to create and change living spaces. The design seems like a three-dimensional realization of a Mondrian painting. The house has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2000. His involvement in the Schröder House exerted a strong influence on Truus' daughter, Han Schröder, who became one of the first female architects in the Netherlands.[6]
Peter BehrensHe was one of the leaders of architectural reform at the turn of the century and was a major designer of factories and office buildings in brick, steel and glass. In 1903, Behrens was named director of the Kunstgewerbeschule in Düsseldorf, where he implemented successful reforms. In 1907, Behrens and ten other people (Hermann Muthesius, Theodor Fischer, Josef Hoffmann, Joseph Maria Olbrich, Bruno Paul, Richard Riemerschmid, Fritz Schumacher, among others), plus twelve companies, gathered to create the German Werkbund. As an organization, it was clearly indebted to the principles and priorities of the Arts and Crafts movement, but with a decidedly modern twist. Members of the Werkbund were focused on improving the overall level of taste in Germany by improving the design of everyday objects and products. This very practical aspect made it an extremely influential organization among industrialists, public policy experts, designers, investors, critics and academics. Behrens' work for AEG was the first large-scale demonstration of the viability and vitality of the Werkbund's initiatives and objectives.
AEG Turbine Factory, 1908–1909. An early example of industrial classicism.In 1907, AEG (Allgemeine Elektrizitäts-Gesellschaft) retained Behrens as artistic consultant. He designed the entire corporate identity (logotype, product design, publicity, etc.) and for that he is considered the first industrial designer in history. Peter Behrens was never an employee for AEG, but worked in the capacity of artistic consultant. In 1910, Behrens designed the AEG Turbine Factory. From 1907 to 1912, he had students and assistants, and among them were Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Le Corbusier, Adolf Meyer, Jean Kramer and Walter Gropius (later to become the first director of the Bauhaus). From 1920 and 1924, hes was responsible for the design and construction of the Technical Administration Building (Technische Verwaltungsgebäude) of Hoechst AG in Höchst. In 1922, he accepted an invitation to teach at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna. Peter Behrens remained head of the Department of Architecture at the Prussian Academy of Arts in Berlin. In 1926, Behrens was commissioned by the Englishman Wenman Joseph Bassett-Lowke to design him a family home in Northampton, UK. The house, named 'New Ways' is often regarded as the first modernist house in Britain.
In 1936 Behrens was called from Vienna to conduct a Master class in architecture, in succession to Hans Poelzig, at the Prussian Academy of Arts (now the Akademie der Künste) in Berlin, reportedly with the specific approval of Hitler. Behrens became associated with Hitler's urbanistic dreams for Berlin with the commission for the new head quarters of the AEG on Albert Speer's
famous planned north-south axis. Speer reported that his selection of Behrens for this commission was rejected by the powerful Alfred Rosenberg, but that his decision was supported by Hitler who admired Behrens's Saint Petersburg Embassy. Behrens and the academy helped his cause by reporting to the Ministry that Behrens had joined the then illegal Nazi party in Austria on May Day of 1934. The vast AEG building with its marshalled fenestrations and detailing, like the project of which it was a part, was not built. Behrens died in Hotel Bristol in Berlin on 27th February 1940, while seeking refuge there from the cold of his country estate.[1]
Art Nouveau
is an international philosophy[1] and style of art, architecture and applied art—especially the decorative arts—that were most popular during 1890–1910.[2] The name "Art Nouveau" is French for "new art". It is known also as Jugendstil, pronounced [ˈjuːɡn ̩tstiːl ], German for "youth style", named after the magazine Jugend, which promoted it, as Modern (Модерн) in Russia, perhaps named after Parisian gallery "La Maison Moderne", as Secession in Austria-Hungary and its successor states after the Viennese group of artists, and, in Italy, as Stile Liberty from the department store in London, Liberty & Co., which popularized the style. A reaction to academic art of the 19th century, it was inspired by natural forms and structures, not only in flowers and plants but also in curved lines. Architects tried to harmonize with the natural environment. It is also considered a philosophy of design of furniture, which was designed according to the whole building and made part of ordinary life.[3]
The style was influenced strongly by Czech artist Alphonse Mucha, when Mucha produced a lithographed poster, which appeared on 1 January 1895 in the streets of Paris as an advertisement for the play Gismonda by Victorien Sardou, featuring Sarah Bernhardt.[4] It popularised the new artistic style and its creator to the citizens of Paris. Initially named Style Mucha, (Mucha Style), his style soon became known as Art Nouveau.[5]
Art Nouveau was most popular in Europe, but its influence was global. Hence, it is known in various guises with frequent localised tendencies.[6] In France, Hector Guimard's Paris metro entrances were of art nouveau style and Emile Gallé practised the style in Nancy. Victor Horta had a decisive effect on architecture in Belgium.[7] Magazines like Jugend helped publicise the style in Germany, especially as a graphic artform, while the Vienna Secessionists influenced art and architecture throughout Austria-Hungary. Art Nouveau was also a style of distinct individuals such as Gustav Klimt, Charles Rennie Mackintosh, Alphonse Mucha, René Lalique, Antoni Gaudí and Louis Comfort Tiffany, each of whom interpreted it in their own manner.[8][9]
De Stijl (/də ˈstaɪl/; Dutch pronunciation: [də ˈstɛil]), Dutch for "The Style", also known as neoplasticism, was a Dutch artistic movement founded in 1917. In a narrower sense, the term De Stijl is used to refer to a body of work from 1917 to 1931 founded in the Netherlands.[1][2] De Stijl is also the name of a journal that was published by the Dutch painter, designer, writer, and critic Theo van Doesburg (1883–1931), propagating the group's theories. Next to van Doesburg, the group's principal members were the painters Piet Mondrian (1872–1944), Vilmos Huszár (1884–1960), and Bart van der Leck (1876–1958), and the architects Gerrit Rietveld (1888–1964), Robert van 't Hoff (1887–1979), and J.J.P. Oud (1890–1963). The artistic philosophy that formed a basis for the group's work is known as neoplasticism — the new plastic art (or Nieuwe Beelding in Dutch).
Proponents of De Stijl sought to express a new utopian ideal of spiritual harmony and order. They advocated pure abstraction and universality by a reduction to the essentials of form and colour; they simplified visual compositions to the vertical and horizontal directions, and used only primary colors along with black and white. Indeed, according to the Tate Gallery's online article on neoplasticism, Mondrian himself sets forth these delimitations in his essay 'Neo-Plasticism in Pictorial Art'. He writes, "... this new plastic idea will ignore the particulars of appearance, that is to say, natural form and colour. On the contrary, it should find its expression in the abstraction of form and colour, that is to say, in the straight line and the clearly defined primary colour." The Tate article further summarizes that this art allows "only primary colours and non-colours, only squares and rectangles, only straight and horizontal or vertical line."[3] The Guggenheim Museum's online article on De Stijl summarizes these traits in similar terms: "It [De Stijl] was posited on the fundamental principle of the geometry of the straight line, the square, and the rectangle, combined with a strong asymmetricality; the predominant use of pure primary colors with black and white; and the relationship between positive and negative elements in an arrangement of non-objective forms and lines."[4]
Principles and influences
The name De Stijl is supposedly derived from Gottfried Semper's Der Stil in den technischen und tektonischen Künsten oder Praktische Ästhetik (1861–3), which Curl[2] suggests was mistakenly believed to advocate materialism and functionalism. In general, De Stijl proposed ultimate simplicity and abstraction, both in architecture and painting, by using only straight horizontal and vertical lines and rectangular forms. Furthermore, their formal vocabulary
was limited to the primary colours, red, yellow, and blue, and the three primary values, black, white, and grey. The works avoided symmetry and attained aesthetic balance by the use of opposition. This element of the movement embodies the second meaning of stijl: “a post, jamb or support”; this is best exemplified by the construction of crossing joints, most commonly seen in carpentry.
In many of the group's three-dimensional works, vertical and horizontal lines are positioned in layers or planes that do not intersect, thereby allowing each element to exist independently and unobstructed by other elements. This feature can be found in the Rietveld Schröder House and the Red and Blue Chair.
De Stijl was influenced by Cubist painting as well as by the mysticism and the ideas about "ideal" geometric forms (such as the "perfect straight line") in the neoplatonic philosophy of mathematician M.H.J. Schoenmaekers. The works of De Stijl would influence the Bauhaus style and the international style of architecture as well as clothing and interior design. However, it did not follow the general guidelines of an “ism” (Cubism, Futurism, Surrealism), nor did it adhere to the principles of art schools like the Bauhaus; it was a collective project, a joint enterprise.
In music, De Stijl was an influence only on the work of composer Jakob van Domselaer, a close friend of Mondrian. Between 1913 and 1916, he composed his Proeven van Stijlkunst (Experiments in Artistic Style), inspired mainly by Mondrian's paintings. This minimalistic—and, at the time, revolutionary—music defined "horizontal" and "vertical" musical elements and aimed at balancing those two principles. Van Domselaer was relatively unknown in his lifetime, and did not play a significant role within the De Stijl group.
