Geinrust Farm: Close Frontal View c. 1905 - 1906

Piet Mondrian made this drawing of Geinrust Farm with charcoal and stump on paper, likely in the first decade of the 20th century. It is a study of light and atmosphere, the dark trees and their reflections rendered in soft, smudgy lines. Mondrian was working in the Netherlands during a time of rapid social and economic change. The country was industrializing and urbanizing, and many artists were looking for new ways to represent the modern world. Mondrian’s early work, like this drawing, was rooted in the traditions of landscape painting, but he was also interested in the spiritual and mystical. He was a member of the Theosophical Society, which emphasized the search for universal truths beyond the material world. We can use sources such as exhibition catalogs, letters, and other archival documents to better understand how Mondrian's spiritual beliefs and his place in the Dutch art world influenced the development of his abstract style.