Geometry of affection. Aesthetic emotion in Piet Mondrian’s artistic theory

Abstract

Piet Mondrian emerged as one of the key figures in the genesis of abstract painting and as co-founder of the De Stijl group. His artistic output is distinguished by a strict economy of plastic resources: a rigorous geometry of straight horizontal and vertical lines, together with the use of primary colours and non-colours (white, black and grey). Despite this apparent limitation, Mondrian developed a deeply personal body of work that had a lasting influence on contemporary art and design. This capacity for articulation was based on a vast theoretical work, consisting of more than 100 texts in which he reflected on pictorial practice, rhythm and the construction of bidimensional space. This study aims to analyse his artistic theory in order to investigate his thoughts on art's ability to evoke emotion in the viewer, what kind of emotion and through what elements, an aspect often overlooked due to the rational and almost mathematical nature of his compositions.