About this artwork
Piet Mondrian made this painting of the Oostzijdse Mill along the River Gein, we don't know exactly when, but he used oil on canvas. It's all about the atmosphere of a still, moonlit night, created with these muted, grayish tones. The surface is really interesting; you can see the brushstrokes, especially in the water, where they're almost vertical, like the reflections of reeds. There's this lovely balance between the actual scene and the way Mondrian's interpreting it through paint. It's not just about depicting a landscape, but about the act of painting itself. Look at the way the moonlight is suggested through these soft, hazy strokes - it’s almost dissolving the forms. You can see this being picked up later by someone like Agnes Martin, who also uses subtle marks to evoke a mood. It's like Mondrian's already searching for something beyond the visible world, even here in this early landscape.
Artwork details
- Copyright
- Public Domain: Artvee
Comments
This landscape clearly reveals how indebted Mondrian was to the Hague School as a young artist. A few years earlier, he had copied Paul Gabriël’s In the Month of July in the Rijksmuseum (on view in this gallery). Although the compositions resemble each other, the general impression in each case is entirely different. Mondrian modified the lines and colours in order to create a non-realistic, decorative painting.
About this artwork
Piet Mondrian made this painting of the Oostzijdse Mill along the River Gein, we don't know exactly when, but he used oil on canvas. It's all about the atmosphere of a still, moonlit night, created with these muted, grayish tones. The surface is really interesting; you can see the brushstrokes, especially in the water, where they're almost vertical, like the reflections of reeds. There's this lovely balance between the actual scene and the way Mondrian's interpreting it through paint. It's not just about depicting a landscape, but about the act of painting itself. Look at the way the moonlight is suggested through these soft, hazy strokes - it’s almost dissolving the forms. You can see this being picked up later by someone like Agnes Martin, who also uses subtle marks to evoke a mood. It's like Mondrian's already searching for something beyond the visible world, even here in this early landscape.
Comments
This landscape clearly reveals how indebted Mondrian was to the Hague School as a young artist. A few years earlier, he had copied Paul Gabriël’s In the Month of July in the Rijksmuseum (on view in this gallery). Although the compositions resemble each other, the general impression in each case is entirely different. Mondrian modified the lines and colours in order to create a non-realistic, decorative painting.
