Contra-Composition of Dissonances, XVI 1925

Theo van Doesburg made this oil painting, 'Contra-Composition of Dissonances, XVI', using rectangles, and primary colours with grey, white, and black. I like imagining him, probably in his studio in the Netherlands, carefully placing those squares, one by one. I get a feeling he’s seeking some kind of visual harmony, maybe even a musical one—'dissonances' suggests he's looking for a kind of syncopation, a visual rhythm. The black lines form a grid, but the tilting feels so dynamic and alive. I wonder if he knew Mondrian, who was doing similar things. Perhaps he saw Mondrian's squares, and thought, “I can play with that." It's amazing how a simple gesture, the tilt of a square, can communicate so much, like a visual shout. It's like they are all talking to each other and to us, like artists do across time.