undefined-undefined-undefined
As I’ve learned from his biography to his biography (Doig,2009 and SRGF, 2010), Theo van Doesburg was a painter, designer, architect and art critic. He was born in Utrecht, in 1883, as Christian Emil Marie Küpper, but he changed his name to what he believed was his father’s, later adding the “van” part. He first started of as an art critic, soon devoting himself to painting. Until 1913 his style was quite influenced by Vincent van Gogh, but it’s when he read Kardinsky’s magazine Rückblicke that he found a new way of artistic expression: the abstraction. He found a great source of inspiration in similar artist Piet Mondrian, who he finally met in 1916, upon Mondrian’s return from Paris.
It is their common dedication to abstract art that led them to forming a group named De Stijl and a magazine of the same name in 1917. Other members of the group were Vilmos Huszar, Bart van der Leck, Antony Kok, J.J.P. Ouel and George Vantongerloo, but van Doesburg was the main editor and publisher, all up till his sudden death of heart failure in 1931. Best definition of the group interest comes from the Guggenheim Foundation collection sections and De Stijl (SRGF, 2010):"They strove for a universal form that would correspond to their spiritual vision. Neo- Plasticism (meaning a new plastic art) was a term adopted by Mondrian to describe the qualities that De Stijl artist endeavoured to achieve in their work. The essential idea was the creation of a universal aesthetic language based in part on rejection of the decorative excesses of Art Nouveau in favour of a simple, logical style that emphasized construction and function, one that would be appropriate for every aspect of modern life."
“We speak of concrete and not abstract painting because nothing is more concrete, more real than a line, a colour, a surface.” (Moszynska, A.,1990, p. 107)
“The word ‘art’ no longer has anything to say to us. In place of that, we (De Stijl) insist upon the construction of our surroundings according to creative laws, deriving from a fixed principle.” (Moszynska, A., 1990, p. 85)
Many would ask why does van Doesburg’s art continuously remain in shadow of Mondrian and he doesn’t receive as much credit as he deserves. The probable answer is that their art was very similar, simple abstracts of diagonal and vertical lines (one thing they often disagreed on); and it should also be noted that Mondrian was already a renown artist at the time. I very much understand Doesburg’s message and intentions, being a fan of abstracts myself. He wanted a viewer to see the image as a whole and not its distinctive part, and embrace the idea and an essence of an image from its depth and emotions.
“It must be emphasized that in seeing a work of art that has been composed by precise means, the viewer does not perceive dominant details. His impression is one of perfect balance to which all the parts contribute, an impression which not only applies to the parts as such, but is transmitted also to the relation existing between the work of art and the viewer.” (Seuphor,M., 1967)
Seuphor (1967) also comments:
"True artistic experience is never passive, for the spectator is obliged to participate, as it were, in the continuous or discontinuous variations of proportions, positions, lines and planes. Moreover, he must see clearly how this play of repeated or non-repeated changes may give rise to a new harmony of relations which will constitute the unity of the work. Every part becomes organized into a whole with the other parts. All the parts contribute to the unity of the composition, none of them assuming a dominant place in the whole."
Fig.1
Doesburg, T. (1925-29) Contra-Compositie XIII [Oil on Canvas]. Peggy Guggenheim Collection, Venice.
Fig. 2 Doesburg, T. (1929) Contre composition simultanee [Oil on Canvas]. San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco.
Fig. 3
Doesburg, T. (1919) Komposition mit Dissonanzen [Oil on Canvas]. Kunstmuseum Basel, Basel.
Yet, no matter how much I try, I can’t seem to find a single abstract painting of this type I like. The way I would describe them is simply bland. From his use of colours, to overall composition…just doesn’t impress me. I might find some more appreciation for his other works, such as stained glass, which he designed using the same principle, but trying to bring in additional dimensions into it.
Fig. 4
Doesburg, T. (1916-17) Glas in lood composite I [Stained glass]. Wikimedia commons [Online]. Available at: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Theo_van_Doesburg_Leaded_Glass_Composition_I.jpg (Accessed: 10 May 2010).
Fig. 5
Doesburg, T. (1917) Composition with window with coloured glass III [Stained glass]. Wikimedia commons [Online]. Available at: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Theo_van_Doesburg_-_Composition_with_window_with_coloured_glass_III.JPG (Accessed: 10 May 2010).
Doesburg, T. (1917) Composition with window with coloured glass III [Stained glass]. Wikimedia commons [Online]. Available at: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Theo_van_Doesburg_-_Composition_with_window_with_coloured_glass_III.JPG (Accessed: 10 May 2010).
Fig. 6
Doesburg, T. (1927) Vitrail Fortunam suam quisque parat [Stained glass] Musee d’Art Moderne et Contemporain de Strasbourg, Strasbourg.
Doesburg, T. (1927) Vitrail Fortunam suam quisque parat [Stained glass] Musee d’Art Moderne et Contemporain de Strasbourg, Strasbourg.
With all his energy and versatility, it’s important to mention that he did a lot of writing and typography. For example I’ll take some of his words from Manifesto (1924) that he did for De Stijl magazine, with purpose (aside advertising himself) to spread De Stijl movement and bring in new enthusiasts:
"3. The new architecture is economic; that is to say, it employs its elemental means as effectively and thriftily as possible and squanders neither these means nor the material. these means nor the material.
4. The new architecture is functional; that is to say, it develops out of the exact determination of the practical demands, which it contains within clear outlines.
5. The new architecture is formless and yet exactly defined; that is to (such as confectioners use) in which it produces the functional surfaces arising out of practical, living demands."(Doesburg, T., 1924)
This is a great introduction to one of the things he was most famous for- architecture. What preceded this article is his moving to Weimer in 1921, wanting to work for Bauhaus. He was gathering students in front of the school, teaching (or disturbing) them with his ideas, eventually starting his own De Stijl architecture course.
“He preached geometry and the use of primary colour and the submersion of the individual in the collective, things that later became an integral part of the Bauhaus philosophy.”(Mawer,2010)
"3. The new architecture is economic; that is to say, it employs its elemental means as effectively and thriftily as possible and squanders neither these means nor the material. these means nor the material.
4. The new architecture is functional; that is to say, it develops out of the exact determination of the practical demands, which it contains within clear outlines.
5. The new architecture is formless and yet exactly defined; that is to (such as confectioners use) in which it produces the functional surfaces arising out of practical, living demands."(Doesburg, T., 1924)
This is a great introduction to one of the things he was most famous for- architecture. What preceded this article is his moving to Weimer in 1921, wanting to work for Bauhaus. He was gathering students in front of the school, teaching (or disturbing) them with his ideas, eventually starting his own De Stijl architecture course.
“He preached geometry and the use of primary colour and the submersion of the individual in the collective, things that later became an integral part of the Bauhaus philosophy.”(Mawer,2010)
Fig. 7
Doesburg, T. (1927) Café Aubette, Strasbourg, France [Wood and acrylic]. Museum of Modern Art collection [Online].
Available at: http://www.moma.org/collection/browse_results.php?criteria=O%3AAD%3AE%3A6076&page_number=22&template_id=1&sort_order=1 (Accessed: 10 May 2010).
Doesburg, T. (1927) Café Aubette, Strasbourg, France [Wood and acrylic]. Museum of Modern Art collection [Online].
Available at: http://www.moma.org/collection/browse_results.php?criteria=O%3AAD%3AE%3A6076&page_number=22&template_id=1&sort_order=1 (Accessed: 10 May 2010).
Fig. 8
Doesburg, T. (1924) Maison Particulière [Model]. Wikimedia commons [Online]
Available at: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Van_Doesburg_and_Van_Eesteren_Maison_Particuli%C3%A8re_2.jpg (Accessed: 10 May 2010).
Doesburg, T. (1924) Maison Particulière [Model]. Wikimedia commons [Online]
Available at: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Van_Doesburg_and_Van_Eesteren_Maison_Particuli%C3%A8re_2.jpg (Accessed: 10 May 2010).
For the end, perhaps better to leave unmentioned, one of his most astonishing activities- Dada. While still working on his ideas in Weimar, he organized a Congress of Constructivists and Dadaist.
“To understand Van Doesburg one must understand the marked polarity in his life: De Stijl on the one hand and Dada on the other. From sublime to the ridiculous.” (Mawer, 2010)
He was publishing A Dada magazine Mécano (Mawer,2010) and wrote poetry under the pseudonym I.K. Bonset and anti-philosophical prose under the name Aldo Camini. His identity wasn’t discovered until his death.
Nelly van Moorsel, his wife, is the one responsible for the best promotion of his art and career. In 1931 he had to move to Switzerland due to his deteriorating health, but didn’t make it. He died suddenly of heart attack. De Stijl magazine died with him, as Nelly published the last issue just after his death as a tribute to him.
Have I done enough research to give my final verdict on this man? Could a different approach make me his art more likeable? I guess one of the things that bother me the most about these reformer artists is that they can’t seem to focus on just one thing, perfecting it. This especially applies to Theo van Doesburg, who in my opinion wasted his energy on too many places.
The ideas behind his art are something that has been followed for many years on. He gained quite a few followers and co worked with many likeminded architects, designers and painters. However, his name still didn’t make the impact it should have, and in many ways, he’ll remain in shadow of other avant garde artists.I never liked much his early paintings, nor his first attempts with abstracts. As he moved to stained glass, I’ve noticed the improvement of shapes and overall composition. Some of these I find truly impressive. I can even say that I’ve liked his use of space and colour from what I’ve seen of his architectural and interior design. All in all, I would label him as average, but I wouldn’t ignore his influence on other artists, with his work, writings and teaching.
References:
Mawer, S. (2010) ‘Theo van Doesburg: Forgotten artist of the avant garde’, The Guardian, 23 January [Online]. Available at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2010/jan/23/theo-van-doesburg-avant-garde-tate (Accessed: 10 May 2010).
Alan Doig (2009) Theo van Doesburg (Christian Emil Marie Küper). Available at: http://www.moma.org/collection/artist.php?artist_id=6076 (Accessed: 10 May 2010).
The Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation (2010) Theo van Doesburg. Available at: http://www.guggenheim.org/new-york/collections/collections-online/show-full/bio/?artist_name=Theo van Doesburg&page=1&f=Name&cr=1 (Accessed: 10 May 2010).
The Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation (2010) De Stijl. Available at: http://www.guggenheimcollection.org/site/glossary_De_Stijl.html (Accessed: 10 May 2010).
Moszynska, A. (1990) Abstract Art. London; New York: Thames and Hudson.
Seuphor, M. (1967) Abstract Painting: 50 years of Accomplishment, from Kandinsky to the Present. New York: Abrams.
Theo van Doesburg: Towards a plastic architecture (1924). Available at: http://caad.arch.ethz.ch/teaching/nds/ws96/exercises/nds9606/text/Theo_manifesto.html (Accessed: 10 May 2010).
Mawer, S. (2010) Theo van Doesburg: Forgotten artist of the avant garde. Available at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2010/jan/23/theo-van-doesburg-avant-garde-tate (Accessed: 10 May 2010).
Image list:
Doesburg, T. (1925-29) Contra-Compositie XIII [Oil on Canvas]. Peggy Guggenheim Collection, Venice. Fig.1
Doesburg, T. (1929) Contre composition simultanee [Oil on Canvas]. San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco. Fig. 2
Doesburg, T. (1919) Komposition mit Dissonanzen [Oil on Canvas]. Kunstmuseum Basel, Basel. Fig.3
Doesburg, T. (1916-17) Glas in lood composite I [Stained glass]. Wikimedia commons [Online]. Available at:: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Theo_van_Doesburg_Leaded_Glass_Composition_I.jpg (Accessed: 10 May 2010). Fig. 4
Doesburg, T. (1917) Composition with window with coloured glass III [Stained glass]. Wikimedia commons [Online]. Available at: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Theo_van_Doesburg_-_Composition_with_window_with_coloured_glass_III.JPG (Accessed: 10 May 2010). Fig. 5
Doesburg, T. (1927) Vitrail Fortunam suam quisque parat [Stained glass] Musee d’Art Moderne et Contemporain de Strasbourg, Strasbourg. Fig. 6
Doesburg, T. (1927) Café Aubette, Strasbourg, France [Wood and acrylic]. Museum of Modern Art collection [Online]. Available at: http://www.moma.org/collection/browse_results.php?criteria=O%3AAD%3AE%3A6076&page_number=22&template_id=1&sort_order=1 (Accessed: 10 May 2010). Fig. 7
Doesburg, T. (1924) Maison Particulière [Model]. Wikimedia commons [Online]/ Available at: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Van_Doesburg_and_Van_Eesteren_Maison_Particuli%C3%A8re_2.jpg (Accessed: 10 May 2010). Fig. 8