Study for Composition VIII (The Cow) 1917

Theo van Doesburg made this Study for Composition VIII (The Cow) with graphite, charcoal, and crayon on paper. This work reflects the artistic climate of the early 20th century, particularly the drive to abstraction. Consider that this study was made during a period of intense questioning of traditional artistic values, when artists sought to reflect modern life through simplified forms and non-representational imagery. Van Doesburg, situated in the Netherlands, was associated with the De Stijl movement, which aimed for a utopian vision of art and society through geometric abstraction. Note how the image reduces a cow to its most basic geometric components. How might the institutions of art history and criticism legitimize such a move away from naturalistic representation? We can examine manifestos, journals, and exhibition records to better understand such a radical re-imagining of the natural world.