Composition with Grid IX 1919

Piet Mondrian made this grid with oil paint on canvas, and it's now hanging out in the Gemeentemuseum den Haag. Looking at this painting, I start imagining what it might have been like for Mondrian in the studio, methodically filling in each square, one at a time. It’s interesting how the grid, at first glance so rigid, starts to feel organic. The hand is visible here, you can see all the slightly wonky lines. I see a community of colors; pastel pinks and blues, soft yellows and greys. They're not quite primary, more like whispers of primaries. The surface is a record of this decision-making—a testament to the artist's effort to reconcile spontaneity with order. I wonder, what came first, the color or the line? The beauty of painting lies in its capacity for ongoing exchange, each artist building upon the discoveries and experimentations of those before. The grid provides a solid structure from which to playfully depart.