Study for Rhythm of a Russian Dance 1918

Theo van Doesburg made this study for ‘Rhythm of a Russian Dance’ with pencil, and perhaps a ruler, on paper. I imagine Van Doesburg’s hand moving precisely, mapping out the underlying structure of movement. It's like he's trying to find the hidden geometry within the dance. You know? The composition feels so balanced, like a puzzle with interlocking shapes, but it also feels so precarious and ready to topple. There's a sense of rhythm in the repetition of forms, which speaks to how music can be translated into visual language. I love how he's broken down the dance into its bare essentials. Thinking about Mondrian, and how the two were both part of De Stijl, you see that they are constantly pushing each other, playing off each other’s ideas, and it makes you feel that art is one big conversation across time.