Synopses & Reviews
What was De Stijl? This fascinating survey, the most comprehensive book to be published on the subject, seeks to unravel that question and to consider how the theory of De Stijl (Dutch for "The Style") matched its actual practice. There are various answers: De Stijl was a magazine; De Stijl was an art movement; and De Stijl was an idea, a world view, and an approach to life. And from the 1930s onwards, De Stijl was recognized internationally as the most important contribution to modern culture made by The Netherlands. It is associated with such instantly recognizable objects as the radical geometric abstract paintings of Piet Mondrian, with their perpendicular relationships and primary colors; the dynamic architectural drawings of Theo van Doesburg, which explode the conventional box-like structure of a building and show it as interpenetrating spaces unfolding in time; and the experimental furniture of Gerrit Rietveld, who took the most familiar of objects, the armchair, and reconfigured it as a series of self-supporting planks and struts. In each case, the artists, architects and designers seem to have had a common aspiration to work together to forge a new cultural consensus and "style" for the modern age. In The Story of De Stijl, which draws extensively on original sources, the authors challenge the understanding of De Stijl as a coherent movement, presenting a series of "scenes" focused on crucial turning points in the history of De Stijl and bringing to the foreground the key relationships and interactions that brought De Stijl to life. It is profusely illustrated with a range of images, many previously unseen, from artworks and buildings to photographs, letters, and documents, that, along with anecdotes, articles, and even footnotes combine to convey the texture of the world De Stijl emerged from. This accessible yet authoritative account is set to become the standard reference work on an important and fascinating modern movement.
Synopsis
This is a comprehensive study of a major figure of the modern movement, in whose work philosophy, architecture and painting are inextricably entwined. From the founding of the periodical De Stijl in 1917, van Doesburg occupied a central position in the development of a Modernist aesthetic. His early career was concentrated on poetry and painting, but from the inception of De Stijl and his association with painters and architects such as Piet Mondrian and J. J. P. Oud, he turned increasingly to architecture as the locus for the accomplishment of the 'total work of art'. Van Doesburg became an architectural theorist of international renown, but encountered disappointment at every turn in his architectural practice. Projects and buildings became object-lessons in the fundamental principles of architecture; theory was shown to be a necessary concomitant to practice. Van Doesburg's extreme polemic guaranteed controversy and conflict so intense that it is still fresh in the minds of his surviving collaborators and correspondents. As the flint to the steel of architects like Gropius and Le Corbusier, as a painter and architect, and as the editor of De Stijl, he was a key figure in the growth of Modernism.
About the Author
Hans Janssen is a curator at the Gemeentemuseum Den Haag, in The Hague, Netherlands. He has published many books on Modernist painting, especially on Mondrian.
Michael White has edited and written a number of books on De Stijl and Dutch modernism. He teaches at the University of York in England.
Table of Contents
Introduction; Part I: 1. The early years of De Stijl: national and international contexts; 2. Elementary means and the development of the painterly conception of architecture; 3. Work with De Boer: colour, mathematics and music; 4. Berlage and the new humanism; Part II. 5. Towards an elementary architecture; 6. The Aubette and related work; 7. The full compass of architecture: from the private house to the new image of the city; Conclusion; Notes; Bibliography; Index.