Chrysanthemum
Piet Mondrian
1909
- YEAR:1909
- MEDIUM:Oil on canvas
- DIMENSIONS:50.5 × 35.2cm
Introduction
Piet Mondrian, leader of the Dutch De Stijl movement, is renowned for his distinctive style of geometric abstraction. Flowers played a significant role in his exploration of abstract form and structure. He painted hundreds of single-flower compositions throughout his life, more than a hundred of them featuring chrysanthemums. In this Chrysanthemum, the concise composition draws attention to the central subject, Mondrian’s thinly applied brushstrokes reveal the flower’s intricate structure, and the use of non-naturalistic colours conveys deeper Theosophical ideas – all of which foreshadow the geometric abstraction that would later define his work. A Chrysanthemum drawing in the collection of the Guggenheim Museum in New York bears a striking resemblance to the floral forms in this work and was very likely its preparatory study.
