Anemones in a Vase 1909

Piet Mondrian made this 29 x 22 cm oil painting, Anemones in a Vase, sometime around the turn of the century. Look at the way he’s built up the surface, all those nervous strokes and layers of semi-transparent paint. It’s like he’s searching for the form, letting the process guide him. The material quality here is amazing. The way the paint is applied, thin in some areas, thicker in others, creates a real sense of depth. The brushwork around the vase at the bottom is amazing: see how the strokes suggest the roundness of the vase. The whole composition is like a field of energy, a vibrant network of marks. It reminds me of some of Emil Nolde's flower paintings, both in the intensity of color and the expressive brushwork. It shows how every mark, every gesture, can be part of a larger conversation about seeing and feeling. Art is about asking questions, not providing answers.