Lisettes Lijst #10 - Compositie in lijn, tweede staat door Piet Mondriaan

In the tenth episode of Lisette’s List, we look at Composition in Line, Second State, an artwork by Piet Mondrian, together with Lisette Pelsers, Director of the Kröller-Müller Museum. Composition in Line, Second State (1916-1917) stems from a period in which Mondrian based his work on a realist subject, even though the final product is abstract. This painting is included in a series of abstract works whose subject is the sea. The horizontal lines in Piet Mondrian’s painting represent the horizontal swell and surge of the waves, while the vertical lines portray the piers that rise up straight from the sea. This artwork by Piet Mondrian is part of a triptych of paintings that portray real subjects in an abstract manner. The works show the process undergone by Piet Mondrian on his journey towards abstraction, in which he increasingly turns his back on realism. Two years after completing Composition in Line, he did, in fact, liberate himself entire from realism. This was in 1919. Although Mondrian’s abstract art consists of geometric shapes and a palette of primary colours, it can be called everything but stark or mechanical. When you examine Mondrian’s painting carefully, you can see the artist’s journey from realism to abstraction clearly reflected in it. Here and there, you will notice a vague sketch line, or spots where earlier lines were erased. You could say that this painting actually gives you a peek of the artist at work. Want to know which other works are on Lisette’s List? Follow us and stay up to date!