The entire evolutionary process of Piet Mondrian’s oeuvre and its substantial meanings can be explained by examining three key works:
1908-10
1915
1942-43
By comparing the above compositions we shall see how from 1908 to 1943 the artist sought the most suitable way to express in abstract form, i.e., universal terms, the same basic idea of a dynamic interaction between multiplicity and unity, that is to say, between the endless variety and mutability of the world around us and within ourselves on the one hand and the need to contemplate their intrinsic unity on the other.
The Red Tree
In the figure of a bare tree we see the horizontal line of the ground presenting a sequence of small vertical strokes that consolidate to form the trunk from which a multiplicity of branches project before joining up again with the line of the ground to the right:
The same process can be observed in:
Apple Tree in Blue
Final Study for The Red Tree (Evening)
The horizontal line of the ground continues to the right and to the left suggesting the boundless extension of nature which was emphasized in the terrestrial and marine landscapes of the same years through a dominant horizontal space:
The tree trunk is vertical like the architectural volumes of mills, lighthouses and church towers of the same period:
The artist saw the horizontal expansion of nature heralding continuous change, while the vertical man-made volumes expressed something more permanent.
Mondrian ascribed to the horizontal the value of everything that can be defined as the “Natural” not only in the sense of the natural landscape but also as anything that before our eyes and within ourselves in the course of our lives constantly changes. In the vertical, instead, the artist saw a symbol of the “Spiritual” that is, of the human quest for constancy, stability, unity.
Through the unifying action of the trunk the suggested infinite space of nature (evoked by the horizontal line of the ground) is condensed into a finite space (the set of branches) which manifests the unpredictable multiplicity of the Natural while maintaining a synthetical wholeness at the same time (the unity invoked by the Spiritual):
It is worth pointing out that the canvas is for the artist a reflection of consciousness.
Through the concentrating action of the vertical trunk (symbol of the Spiritual) the boundless horizontal line of the ground (the Natural) is condensed into a finite set of branches which then, on the right, flows back toward the suggested infinite line of the ground (the Natural).
From an extended multiplicity to a synthesis and from the synthesis back toward an extended multiplicity. It is in fact a circular process. Circularity seems to be reasserted by a circle that can be seen in the upper right section of the painting.
Pier and Ocean 5
Charcoal, Ink (?) and Gouache on Paper,
cm. 87,9 x 111
About five years later we find the same idea of the manifold becoming one and then turning manifold again in a new work that although inspired by a landscape, is already in fact an abstract composition.
The work belongs to a series of drawings, and gouaches inspired by a pier jutting out from the beach into the sea.
From the painter’s point of view the pier appears as a vertical (same as the vertical volumes of mills, lighthouses and church towers of the previous period) which interpenetrate with the horizontal flow of the sea (analogous to the dominant horizontal space of the landscapes and seascapes of previous years).
Pier and Ocean 5 generates from three previous compositions:
Fig. 1: Pier and Ocean 2
Fig. 2: Pier and Ocean 3
Fig. 3: Pier and Ocean 4
Fig. 1: The interaction between the finite vertical pier rising from the bottom and the horizontal boundless expanse of the sea generates in the upper central zone a sort of rectangular field:
Pier and Ocean 2, 1914,
Charcoal, Ink and Gouache on Paper,
cm. 50 x 62,6
The rectangular area of Fig. 1 becomes a quadrangular area in Fig. 2:
Pier and Ocean 3 with Diagram, 1914,
Charcoal on Paper,
cm. 50,5 x 63
The quadrangular area of Fig. 2 is then concentrated in the upper section of Fig. 3 to become a set of quadratic shapes with one larger and more defined square in the center:
Pier and Ocean 4 with Diagram, 1914,
Charcoal on Paper,
cm. 50,2 x 62,8
In the latest version of this series of works (Pier and Ocean 5 – Fig. 4), the variegated group of squares we see in Fig. 3 becomes one single square expressing in itself the most balanced relationship between the opposite directions while in other areas of the painting we see hints of squares that are not fully achieved:
Pier and Ocean 4 with Diagram, 1914,
Pier and Ocean 5 with Diagram, 1915,
The horizontal expansion of the sea (symbolizing the Natural) and the input towards concentration exerted by the vertical pier (a man-made artefact, symbol of the Spiritual) generate a perfect balance within the central square in Fig. 4.
Elsewhere horizontals and verticals relate in the form of probable squares that is only fully achieved in the in the upper central area. The variety of unstable relationships between horizontal and vertical find a more balanced and lasting situation in that square where the opposite directions assume the same size, i.e., the same value. In the central square the contrasting duality which animates the whole composition is transformed into an ideal unity.
Think about how often conflicting drives and ideas fragment the unity of consciousness and how rare, on the other hand, are the moments when we are able to find a synthesis that takes into account the totality of ourselves in relation to the inner and outer worlds.
Same as the tree trunk unifies a capricious set of branches, a square unifies now a variety of mutable orthogonal signs.
By reducing reality to a multitude of varying perpendicular signs, Mondrian performs an arbitrary operation with respect to everything we see. This enables him, however, to express the greatest possible variety on the canvas while at the same time maintaining something more constant. Every sign differs in fact from the others but they all share the same intimate nature (the perpendicular relationship), just as every human being, every animal or tree is unique and unrepeatable but all express some fundamental characteristics that make it possible to discern an invisible overall design.
“There is a common design to all things, plants, trees, animals, humans and it is with this design that we should be in consonance” (Henri Matisse).
The “landscape” on which the abstract vision is concentrated overlooks the peculiar aspect of each individual thing so as to focus on what different things have in common. As Mondrian was to put it: “Art must express the universal”.
In Pier and Ocean 5 the achievement of a perfect balance between opposites is revealed within the central square and thus suggests an inner space. The square appears as a plastic symbol of the unifying consciousness dealing with the multifarious aspect of the outer world as well as with the contradictory impulses governing our inner space both symbolized here by a multitude of different relationships between opposites drives which never really attain a full balance. The transience nature of outer / inner reality is instead captured in a more stable synthesis within the central square.
It is, however, obvious that the consciousness can only produce partial syntheses; it clearly cannot exhaust all the possible relations with the external / internal worlds. Every synthesis generated by thought is necessarily partial and temporary, and must therefore open up again to the multiform and ever-changing aspect of both inner and outer reality. This is what all sensible people do when they call their certainties into question in the light of experience. This is what philosophy has been doing for centuries, as have the arts and above all the experimental sciences.
A second square can be seen in Pier and Ocean 5 above the square that we have identified as a unitary synthesis of the whole composition:
Inside the second square we see a vertical segment, like the one we have in the square below, while the horizontal segment is now split into two shorter sections that extend beyond the boundary of the square to the right and left. The two small horizontal segments form two cross-shaped marks with the two vertical sides of the square. These two cross-shaped marks tell us that unity is opening up to duality.
The unitary synthesis achieved in the lower square in the form of a perfect balance between opposites (Mondrian used to say “equivalence of opposites”) is broken up into a duality that then flows back toward the variety of different situations marked again by the alternating predominance of one direction or the other.
The unity generated with the first square opens up again to manifold space with the second. The composition evokes this way the manifold and controversial space of life which attains measure and a harmonious condition in the space of consciousness (the square) before opening up again to the controversial outer – inner reality and unforeseeable events of life.
I recall the ideal circular process that we have observed in the figure of the tree where, through the unifying action of the vertical trunk, the horizontal extension of the ground (a virtually infinite space) becomes a set of branches (a finite space) that then flows back to the right towards the continuous line of the ground.
In a different way we see now an analogous circular process in Pier and Ocean 5 where the horizontal extended sea (a virtually infinite space) is concentrated by a vertical pier into a central square (a finite, balanced synthesis) which then opens higher up to the horizontal before flowing back towards manifold space. In both works multiplicity becomes unity and then unity turns back into multiplicity.
Unity and multiplicity, permanent and mutable, i.e., the Spiritual and the Natural are commonly considered as opposite aspects that Mondrian would like to show simultaneously as if they actually would be one and the same thing observed from different viewpoints. I have used the example of a tree looking like a simple patch of green when observed from a certain distance but revealing a far more complex structure on closer examination. Moving in the opposite direction, the complex structure of the same tree once again returns to a condensed patch of color. Unity reveals endless multiplicity and multiplicity reverts to unity.
There is a constant alternation of unity and multiplicity in our experience of everyday life. It depends on our point of observation if one thing looks small and simple or large and complex. This applies not only in observing tangible things around us but also in considering existential and psychological situations. Indeed, we often tend to simplify or unify what is actually far more articulated and complex.
Broadway Boogie Woogie
We shall now examine the third work which, after thirty-five years from The Red Tree and twenty-seven years from Pier and Ocean 5, shows in a totally new way the same process from multiplicity to unity and from unity to multiplicity.
At first glance we see a multitude of small gray, yellow, red, and blue fragments randomly moving along straight yellow lines:
Oil on Canvas, cm. 127 x 127
Observation of the frenzied succession of fragments reveals some that join up with others to generate symmetrical configurations along the lines (Diagram A).
The symmetrical sequences present an orderly rhythm generated by a repeated alternation of the same colors.
In the upper right corner of Diagram A we see two yellow-red vertical symmetries generate a horizontal correspondence which takes the form of a small blue plane. This is then followed by other planes of different colors and shapes (Diagram B):
The relationship between the opposite directions appears more stable and durable in the planes than in the initial gray, red and blue fragments constantly moving within the lines.
New planes are born (Diagram C), that differ from the ones observed in diagram B by presenting an inner space made of two colors:
Diagram D shows how the internalisation of different colored sections of space observed in diagram C, continues with a further growth of planes both in extent and color consistency. The three primary colors concentrate now in the area of just two planes while to the right we see a single large plane in which the three primary colors interpenetrate to form a single, compact unity:
The manifold space made of yellow, red and blue fragments randomly expanding within opposite lines, which disrupted our visual field at the beginning of the process by keeping the eye in constant motion, attain now a unitary synthesis (Diagram E):
Space undergoes uninterrupted transformation from a condition of multiplicity to one of unity.
Same as the tree trunk unifying the set of branches in The Red Tree and the fully achieved balanced central square unifying a set of imbalanced relationships between horizontals and verticals in Pier and Ocean 5 , the unitary plane in Broadway Boogie Woogie is a plastic symbol of the unifying consciousness of man dealing with the multifarious and constantly changing outer and inner worlds symbolized here by a variety of fragments dispersed along never-ending straight lines. Because it is abstract, the painting can function as a plastic symbol of both the outer and inner worlds of any different person.
The controversial and virtually infinite space of the lines is transformed into a finite and more lasting space with the unitary plane.
It would, however, be a mistake to see this as a permanent situation. The unitary plane should rather be seen as a temporary balanced synthesis which, like the square of Pier and Ocean 5 reopens to the manifold space around, as we shall now see in diagram F.
Plane 2 is the same size as plane 1 but consists solely of red and gray rather than the three primary colors.
Moreover the horizontal line running suddenly through the vertical plane tends visually to disrupt the previously attained balanced interpenetration of horizontal and vertical achieved in plane 1:
After the equivalence of the opposite directions and the synthesis of the three primary colors attained in plane 1, the colors are again reduced in plane 2 and the external dynamism of the lines reappears to generate new opposition. After the degree of comparative calm, constancy, and unity achieved in plane 1, spatial movement thus seems to reappear in plane 2.
The indication provided by plane 2 finds further confirmation in plane 3, where blue, yellow, and red are juxtaposed but no longer interpenetrated as in plane 1.
The juxtaposition produces the impression of three separate planes, whereas the interpenetration combines the three colors in a single structure of greater stability.
Note how the yellow on the right of plane 3 already seeks to cross the perimeter of the plane and flow into the yellow of the surrounding lines. Plane 3 can therefore be seen as plane 1 in the process of dissolution:
Configuration 4 possibly represents the conclusion of the process of reopening the unitary synthesis in that it can be seen as a continuation of the disintegration of 3.
Diagram F: Space proceeds from a comparatively static and wholly internal condition (1) toward one of growing instability (2) that is gradually transformed into the more dynamic and variable external space of the lines (3, 4).
A multiplicity of yellow, red and blue fragments concentrates in a synthesis of those three colors (Diagram E) and then reopens to the multiple (Diagram F):
From expansion toward increasing concentration (Diagram E) and then from concentration back to expansion (Diagram F). This is the way Broadway Boogie Woogie breathes.
Through a dynamic process the one and the many, i.e., the unity invoked by the Spiritual and the multiplicity presented by the Natural, merge and transform into each other.
For a detailed examination of Broadway Boogie Woogie see this.
From the image of a tree, which expresses the relationship between multiplicity and unity in a metaphorical way, toward an image of a stylized pier extended toward the sea to a completely abstract image that, as such, acquires a universal significance that no longer applies only to a tree or a pier but to the whole of reality. “Art must express the universal” (Mondrian)
A circular process
The Red Tree (1908-10), Pier and Ocean 5 (1915) and Broadway Boogie Woogie (1942-43) show a similar process from multiplicity to unity and from unity to multiplicity, that is to say, a circular process.
Please note how in all the three paintings it is the horizontal which opens up the concentration previously exercised by the vertical:
The horizontal (for Mondrian a symbol of the Natural) re-opens the synthesis generated by the unifying action of the vertical (the Spiritual).
Same as in The Red Tree where it is the horizontal line of the ground which re-opens the synthesis (the set of branches) generated by the vertical trunk and same as in Pier and Ocean 5 where the horizontal extended sea (a virtually infinite space) is concentrated by the vertical pier into a central square (a finite, balanced synthesis) which then opens higher up to the horizontal before flowing back towards manifold space.
Broadway Boogie Woogie expresses in the clearest form and most vivid colors the basic idea that has guided the artist for an entire existence.
“Life is a continued examination of the same thing in ever-greater depth” (Mondrian)
“Reality is not as it appears to us“ explains scientist and philosopher of science Carlo Rovelli in his book of the same name.
What we call “real” is only a part – the part accessible to us – of a broader and truer reality. Our senses do not grasp the microcosm that generates and is the substance of everything we see and touch. Everything, from minerals to plants, animals and human beings which we perceive as individual beings are actually a multiplicity of parts each composed in turn of tissues, cells and atoms. Every single thing unveils a very complex and virtually infinite reality that we do not actually perceive as such.
Piet Mondrian’s work offers us a new way of viewing reality, in which everything that appears as one is at the same time manifold, and every multiplicity reveals an intrinsic unity.
“Yes, the one is one only in appearance: it is part of the whole and is at the same time a whole composed of parts… Each thing shows in smallness again the whole. The microcosm is equal in composition to the macrocosm, says the sage.” (Mondrian)
Painting certainly means taking into account the visible, but today it also means considering the visible as the emerging part of a truer reality. In accounting for both the apparent shapes and an invisible basic structure common to all things, painting regain a universal view of reality.
“Art makes visible the invisible.” (Paul Klee)
Copyright Michele (Michael) Sciam. All Rights Reserved More