Apple Tree, Pointillist Version 1908 - 1909

Piet Mondrian made this pointillist apple tree with short brushstrokes of blue, gold, and pink. I can imagine him outside, squinting up at the tree, dabbing his canvas, and thinking about the way the light hits each leaf. Mondrian is known for his grids, but here he's playing with something more organic. You can see how the short dabs of color make the whole scene vibrate. The trunk and branches are dark and gestural, in contrast to the background. Look at the strokes he uses to define the top of the tree. I feel Mondrian trying to figure out how to transform what he sees into something abstract, something new. You see echoes of Van Gogh's swirling landscapes, but Mondrian is already pushing towards his own kind of abstraction. It’s like he's saying, "How can I capture the essence of this tree, not just its appearance?" Artists are always building on each other, challenging and inspiring each other across time.