I thought others might also find this article on Mondrian's work worthwhile
(see below). Anyone who finds this topic interesting and might be in San
Francisco could also stop at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. They
have an unfinished Mondrian on display, complete with tape and color painted
on portions of the tape so that, I would assume, he could study the effect
before putting the color on the canvas.
Below are sections from the article and web page addresses that will lead
interested readers to more web-based info. Amy
=============================
Experts say Mondrian's rectangles not so square
By Ken Gewertz
http://www.hno.harvard.edu/gazette/2001/05.03/01-mondrian.html
Having a face-to-face encounter with a painting by the Dutch artist Piet
Mondrian (1872-1944) and looking at a reproduction are very different
experiences.
To make this assertion about almost any other artist would be to state the
obvious. Most people understand that the glowing tones of a Titian or the
expressive impasto of a van Gogh can only be imperfectly hinted at in a
print, and no art critic, with the possible exception of Sister Wendy, would
suggest that looking at a reproduction is an adequate substitute for
standing before the original work of art.
But with Mondrian, the realization comes as something of a surprise. . . .
He arrived at this style, which he called "neoplasticism," after years of
experimentation with realism, symbolism, cubism, and others. The search
seemed to refine his art down to absolute bare essentials, and with such
simple visual elements to work with, it hardly seems that a reproduction
would miss much.
. . . [E]xamination of the paintings went far beyond the capacity of the
naked eye, encompassing X-ray, ultraviolet, infrared, and microscopic
photography. These techniques allowed them to penetrate beyond the surface
of the paintings and to make deductions not only about Mondrian's changes
but also the order in which he made them. In many cases, the curators were
able to compare their findings with photographs of the paintings in
Mondrian's Paris studio, thus adding a further dimension to the study. The
results of their two and a half years of research fill 120 CDs.
Much of this data can be accessed through the exhibition Web site as well as
at computer kiosks in the exhibition itself. The data has been programmed to
allow viewers to see Mondrian's successive changes as overlays and to jump
from one to another by clicking the mouse.
. . . Mondrian's 11 neat, tight packages will be on display until July 22.
The Web site is http://www.artmuseums.harvard.edu/mondrian. The site will be
in operation for the next two years.
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