Lozenge Composition with Yellow, Black, Blue, Red, and Gray

Description

Piet Mondrian, a painter of the revolutionary international movement De Stijl (the Style), argued that "the straight line tells the truth." Why, then, we might wonder, would he choose to hang a painting off axis, where its edges imply dynamic diagonals? Among other motivations, rotating the canvas allowed Mondrian to reconsider a question he spent his career exploring, namely, the relationship between the contents of a painting and what contains them. In Lozenge Composition, the squared-off black lines imply enclosure, while a single line (above the blue area) extends to the slanted edge, suggesting extension beyond the canvas. This implication of what might lie beyond also prompted Mondrian to invoke the full expanse of the wall by hanging diagonal paintings well above eye level.

Provenance

Consigned to Galerie de “L’Effort Moderne” (Léonce Rosenberg), Paris, 1921-22. Jakob von Domselaer and Maaike von Domselaer-Middelkoop, Bergen, the Netherlands, 1922(?)-1940/45. John Rädecker, Groet, the Netherlands, 1940/45-c. 1948. John L. Senior, Jr., New York, by 1949-1956 [letter from Sidney Janis Gallery in curatorial file]. Sidney Janis Gallery, New York, 1956. Edgar Kaufmann, Jr., New York, March 1, 1957; given to the Art Institute, 1957.

Lozenge Composition with Yellow, Black, Blue, Red, and Gray

Piet Mondrian

1921

Accession Number

109819

Medium

Oil on canvas

Dimensions

60 × 60 cm (23 5/8 × 23 5/8 in.)

Classification

oil on canvas

Museum

The Art Institute of Chicago

Chicago, United States

Credit Line

Gift of Edgar Kaufmann, Jr.