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The romantic elements in De Stijl theory

The aim of this essay is to focus on and analyse
the romantic aspects of De Stijl theory. It
is argued that these romantic aspects have
received less detailed analysis than the
classicising tendencies within this movement’s
underlying theory. The terms ‘classic’ and
‘romantic’, as used within the context of De Stijl
theory, will be clarified for the purposes of this
analysis. The article focuses on De Stijl theory,
as reflected in the writings of the founding
members of the movement, with specific
reference to artist Piet Mondrian. Examples of
De Stijl art and design are mentioned in order
to contextualise certain ideas as formulated
by Mondrian in particular, but this article
does not focus on a discussion of the artworks
themselves. Careful analysis of (as argued
here) neglected aspects of De Stijl thought,
makes a broader, more inclusive contextual
interpretation of De Stijl art and design
possible. Whilst acknowledging the existence
of Western romantic thought and its influence
on early twentieth-century abstract painting,
this article focuses on a more specifically
Eastern romantic notion of monism and antimaterialism
as the basis for the formulation of
De Stijl abstraction.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:tut/oai:encore.tut.ac.za:d1000855
Date January 2007
CreatorsKruger, R
PublisherUnisa Press
Source SetsSouth African National ETD Portal
LanguageEnglish
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeText
FormatPdf
RightsUnisa Press
RelationDe Arte

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