The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists (320 page)
Read The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists Online
Authors: Ian Chilvers
Mondrian , Piet
(1872–1944).
Dutch painter, one of the most important figures in the development of
abstract art
. His early painting was naturalistic and direct, often delicate in colour, but between 1907 and 1910 his painting took on a
Symbolist
character, partly under the influence of
Toorop
and perhaps partly owing to his conversion to Theosophy. In 1911 he moved to Paris, where he came into contact with
Cubism
and executed a now famous series of paintings on the theme of a tree, in which the image became progressively more abstract (
Flowering Apple Tree
, Gemeente Mus., The Hague, 1912). He returned to Holland in 1914 and remained there during the war, continuing his study of abstraction and developing theories about the horizontal-vertical axes. With Theo van
Doesburg
he founded the group
De Stijl
in 1917 and became the main exponent of a new kind of rigorously geometrical abstract painting that he named
Neo-Plasticism
, in which he limited himself to rectangular forms and a range of colours consisting of the three primaries plus black, white, and grey. From 1919 to 1938 Mondrian lived in Paris, where in 1931 he joined the
Abstraction-Création
group. For many years he had struggled to earn a living, but in the 1920s he gradually became known to an international circle of admirers, including the American Katherine
Dreier
(from 1926). In 1938 he left Paris because of the threat of war, and for the next two years he lived in London, near Naum
Gabo
and Ben
Nicholson
. In 1940 he settled in New York, where he died. In America he developed a more colourful style, with syncopated rhythms that reflect his interest in jazz and dancing (
Broadway Boogie-Woogie
, MOMA, 1942–3); he was noted for his immaculate tidiness and rather fussy lifestyle, but he had a passion for social dancing and took lessons in fashionable steps. Mondrian's concept of ‘pure plasticity’ consisted partly in the simplification of the means of expression to the bare essentials. He not only banished representation and three-dimensional picture-space but also the curved line, sensuous qualities of texture and surface, and the sensuous appeal of colour. This restrictedness he regarded as a sort of mystical pursuit of the Absolute, which he justified in terms of his Theosophical beliefs. His extensive influence—expressed through his writings as well as his paintings—was not limited to artists whose style had direct affinities with his own. He also had a profound influence on much industrial, decorative, and advertisement art from the 1930s onwards.
Dutch painter, one of the most important figures in the development of
abstract art
. His early painting was naturalistic and direct, often delicate in colour, but between 1907 and 1910 his painting took on a
Symbolist
character, partly under the influence of
Toorop
and perhaps partly owing to his conversion to Theosophy. In 1911 he moved to Paris, where he came into contact with
Cubism
and executed a now famous series of paintings on the theme of a tree, in which the image became progressively more abstract (
Flowering Apple Tree
, Gemeente Mus., The Hague, 1912). He returned to Holland in 1914 and remained there during the war, continuing his study of abstraction and developing theories about the horizontal-vertical axes. With Theo van
Doesburg
he founded the group
De Stijl
in 1917 and became the main exponent of a new kind of rigorously geometrical abstract painting that he named
Neo-Plasticism
, in which he limited himself to rectangular forms and a range of colours consisting of the three primaries plus black, white, and grey. From 1919 to 1938 Mondrian lived in Paris, where in 1931 he joined the
Abstraction-Création
group. For many years he had struggled to earn a living, but in the 1920s he gradually became known to an international circle of admirers, including the American Katherine
Dreier
(from 1926). In 1938 he left Paris because of the threat of war, and for the next two years he lived in London, near Naum
Gabo
and Ben
Nicholson
. In 1940 he settled in New York, where he died. In America he developed a more colourful style, with syncopated rhythms that reflect his interest in jazz and dancing (
Broadway Boogie-Woogie
, MOMA, 1942–3); he was noted for his immaculate tidiness and rather fussy lifestyle, but he had a passion for social dancing and took lessons in fashionable steps. Mondrian's concept of ‘pure plasticity’ consisted partly in the simplification of the means of expression to the bare essentials. He not only banished representation and three-dimensional picture-space but also the curved line, sensuous qualities of texture and surface, and the sensuous appeal of colour. This restrictedness he regarded as a sort of mystical pursuit of the Absolute, which he justified in terms of his Theosophical beliefs. His extensive influence—expressed through his writings as well as his paintings—was not limited to artists whose style had direct affinities with his own. He also had a profound influence on much industrial, decorative, and advertisement art from the 1930s onwards.
Monet , Claude
(1840–1926).
French
Impressionist
painter. He is regarded as the archetypal Impressionist in that his devotion to the ideals of the movement was unwavering throughout his long career, and it is fitting that one of his pictures—
Impression: Sunrise
(Musée Marmottan, Paris, 1872)—gave the group its name. His youth was spent in Le Havre, where he first excelled as a
caricaturist
but was then converted to landscape painting by his early mentor
Boudin
, from whom he derived his firm predilection for painting out of doors. In 1859 he studied in Paris at the
Académie
Suisse and formed a friendship with
Pissarro
. After two years' military service in Algiers, he returned to Le Havre and met
Jongkind
, to whom he said he owed ‘the definitive education of my eye’. He then, in 1862, entered the studio of
Gleyre
in Paris and there met
Renoir
,
Sisley
, and
Bazille
, with whom he was to form the nucleus of the Impressionist group. Monet's devotion to painting out of doors is illustrated by the famous story concerning one of his most ambitious early works,
Women in the Garden
(Musée d'Orsay, Paris, 1866–7). The picture is about 2.5m. high and to enable him to paint all of it outside he had a trench dug in the garden so the canvas could be raised or lowered by pulleys to the height he required.
Courbet
visited him when he was working on it and said Monet would not paint even the leaves in the background unless the lighting conditions were exactly right.
During the Franco-Prussian War (1870–1) Monet took refuge in England with Pissarro: he studied the work of
Constable
and
Turner
, painted the Thames and London parks, and met the dealer
Durand-Ruel
, who was to become one of the great champions of the Impressionists. From 1871 to 1876 he lived at Argenteuil, a village on the Seine near Paris, and here were painted some of the most joyous and famous works of the Impressionist movement, not only by Monet , but by his visitors
Manet
, Renoir, and Sisley. In 1878 he moved to Vétheuil and in 1883 he settled at Giverny, also on the Seine, but about 40 miles from Paris. After having experienced extreme poverty, Monet began to prosper. By 1890 he was successful enough to buy the house at Giverny he had previously rented and in 1892 he married his mistress, with whom he had begun an affair in 1876, three years before the death of his first wife. From 1890 he concentrated on series of pictures in which he painted the same subject at different times of the day in different lights-
Haystacks or Grainstacks
(1890–1)
and Rouen Cathedral
(1891–5) are the best known. He continued to travel widely, visiting London and Venice several times (and also Norway as a guest of Queen Christiana), but increasingly his attention was focused on the celebrated water-garden he created at Giverny, which served as the theme for the series of paintings on
Water-lilies
that began in 1899 and grew to dominate his work completely (in 1914 he had a special studio built in the grounds of his house so he could work on the huge canvases). In his final years he was troubled by failing eyesight, but he painted until the end. He was enormously prolific and many major galleries have examples of his work.
French
Impressionist
painter. He is regarded as the archetypal Impressionist in that his devotion to the ideals of the movement was unwavering throughout his long career, and it is fitting that one of his pictures—
Impression: Sunrise
(Musée Marmottan, Paris, 1872)—gave the group its name. His youth was spent in Le Havre, where he first excelled as a
caricaturist
but was then converted to landscape painting by his early mentor
Boudin
, from whom he derived his firm predilection for painting out of doors. In 1859 he studied in Paris at the
Académie
Suisse and formed a friendship with
Pissarro
. After two years' military service in Algiers, he returned to Le Havre and met
Jongkind
, to whom he said he owed ‘the definitive education of my eye’. He then, in 1862, entered the studio of
Gleyre
in Paris and there met
Renoir
,
Sisley
, and
Bazille
, with whom he was to form the nucleus of the Impressionist group. Monet's devotion to painting out of doors is illustrated by the famous story concerning one of his most ambitious early works,
Women in the Garden
(Musée d'Orsay, Paris, 1866–7). The picture is about 2.5m. high and to enable him to paint all of it outside he had a trench dug in the garden so the canvas could be raised or lowered by pulleys to the height he required.
Courbet
visited him when he was working on it and said Monet would not paint even the leaves in the background unless the lighting conditions were exactly right.
During the Franco-Prussian War (1870–1) Monet took refuge in England with Pissarro: he studied the work of
Constable
and
Turner
, painted the Thames and London parks, and met the dealer
Durand-Ruel
, who was to become one of the great champions of the Impressionists. From 1871 to 1876 he lived at Argenteuil, a village on the Seine near Paris, and here were painted some of the most joyous and famous works of the Impressionist movement, not only by Monet , but by his visitors
Manet
, Renoir, and Sisley. In 1878 he moved to Vétheuil and in 1883 he settled at Giverny, also on the Seine, but about 40 miles from Paris. After having experienced extreme poverty, Monet began to prosper. By 1890 he was successful enough to buy the house at Giverny he had previously rented and in 1892 he married his mistress, with whom he had begun an affair in 1876, three years before the death of his first wife. From 1890 he concentrated on series of pictures in which he painted the same subject at different times of the day in different lights-
Haystacks or Grainstacks
(1890–1)
and Rouen Cathedral
(1891–5) are the best known. He continued to travel widely, visiting London and Venice several times (and also Norway as a guest of Queen Christiana), but increasingly his attention was focused on the celebrated water-garden he created at Giverny, which served as the theme for the series of paintings on
Water-lilies
that began in 1899 and grew to dominate his work completely (in 1914 he had a special studio built in the grounds of his house so he could work on the huge canvases). In his final years he was troubled by failing eyesight, but he painted until the end. He was enormously prolific and many major galleries have examples of his work.
monotype
.
.
A method of making a print (and the print so made) in which a design is painted (usually in oil colours) on a flat sheet of metal or glass and is then transferred directly to a sheet of paper. With glass plates it is necessary to apply the pressure to the back of the paper by hand; in other cases monotypes may be printed in a press. Strictly speaking, only one print may be taken by this process (hence the term ‘monotype’); in practice the colour on the slab may be reinforced after printing and another one or two impressions taken, although they will differ considerably from the first. Various modifications of the principle are known. G. B.
Castiglione
is generally credited with the invention of the monotype in the 1640s.
Blake
and
Degas
are two artists who have made memorable use of technique.
Castiglione
is generally credited with the invention of the monotype in the 1640s.
Blake
and
Degas
are two artists who have made memorable use of technique.
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