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De Stijl

(Redirected from Neo-Plasticism)

De Stijl (Dutch; pronounced 'duh-shtile'; literally 'The Style' in English) was an art movement (also known as "neoplasticism", namely, the new plastic art) of the 1920s that sought to express a new Utopian ideal of spiritual harmony and order. It advocated pure abstraction and universality by a reduction to the essentials of form and colour- the vertical and the horizontal directions and the primary colors of red, blue and yellow along with black and white.

Piet Mondrian (Dutch, 1872-1944), the group's most renowned artist, published a manifesto titled Neo-Plasticism in 1920. Painter Theo van Doesburg (Dutch, 1883-1931) published a journal named De Stijl from 1917 to 1928, spreading the theories of the group, which also included the painter George Vantongerloo (Belgian, 1886-1965) and the architects J.J.P. Oud (Dutch, 1890-1963) and Gerrit Rietveld (Dutch, 1888-1965).

In many of the works under this movement, the vertical and the horizontal lines tend to slide past each other and do not intersect- for example some of Mondriaan's paintings, Rietveld's Schröder house and the Red and blue chair .

The movement was influenced by the neoplatonic philosophy of the mathematician M. H. J. Schoenmaekers and his books. The term Neo-Plasticism was also his.

The work of De Stijl exerted tremendous influence on the Bauhaus and the International style as well as clothing and interior design.

Neoplasticists include:

  • Piet Mondrian - 1872 - 1944
  • Theo van Doesburg 1883-1931
  • Ilya Bolotowsky - 1907-1981
  • Marlow Moss 1890 - 1958
  • Amédée Ozenfant 1886 - 1966
  • Max Bill 1908 - 1994
  • Jean Gorin 1899-1981
  • Burgoyne Diller 1906-1965
  • Georges Vantongerloo 1886-1965

For the 2000 indie rock album by The White Stripes, see De Stijl (album)

Last updated: 10-23-2005 03:36:27
Last updated: 01-04-2007 01:18:57
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