Apple Tree, Pointillist Version 1908 - 1909

This “Apple Tree, Pointillist Version” is a painting by Piet Mondrian, and it's less about the apple and more about the feeling of making. I love the way Mondrian doesn’t just paint what he sees. He builds it with marks. Look at the dashes of gold, blue, and pink in the background. They aren’t just color; they are like individual thoughts, building up into a field of energy. The tree itself is a dark, almost brutal form. But even there, the paint isn't smooth, it’s dragged and dabbed. What gets me is how physical this is. You can almost feel Mondrian’s hand moving, swiping the brush, deciding where to put each mark. He’s not trying to hide the process. It’s right there on the surface. It reminds me of Van Gogh, in the way he used brushstrokes to build not just an image, but also an emotion. The more Mondrian lets us see how it’s made, the more we can feel what it’s like to be in the making of it.