Complete Mondrian

by Marty Bax, Theo Maedendorp

A visual companion to the complete works of Piet Mondrian (1872-1944), one of the most important figures in the development of abstract art. Drawing on the Mondrian catalogue raisonne, the book reproduces all of Mondrian's works in a single volume with key caption information. The organization of the illustrations into major chronological periods is intended to give the reader an immediate visual impression of the development of Mondrian's work - from the early naturalistic paintings of the 1890s, through the more experimental, neo-Impressionist work of the early 20th century, to the abstract grid paintings for which he is best known. The book also highlights the range of media in which Mondrian worked, encompassing drawings, prints and three-dimensional works, as well as paintings. With over 300 major works reproduced in colour and over 1000 in black and white, this should be a key reference for specialists and enthusiasts.

Genres: Art

592 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 2001

Reviews

[Geoff · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mondrian is one of my favorite artists, so I loved the biography and the historical look at his development, but tooany of the complete works were reproduced in tiny back and white.

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Curious if this is actually "complete" as I couldn't seem to find my favorite pastel work of his (which I saw at the Musée d'Orsay without noting the title) - though this might be my own faulty memory at play...

While the text only consists of a biographical chronology at the front of the book, it is well written, informative, and a good resource to flip back to when you encounter a work that is especially confounding or attractive.

The reproductions are well done, though the format is compact/small.

[Gerald Thomson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not completely sure how I feel about this book. It is certainly fascinating to see, over time, Mondrian’s move from figurative painting, to cubism and, ultimately, to his self described Neo-Plasticism. Also, to see the volume of production Mondrian produced over his lifetime is overwhelming. Complete Mondrian provides the opportunity for both of these.

On the down side, the biographical information at the beginning of the book is not greatly written, but it does clearly show the arrogance of Mondrian, comparing all art to his own, the only true art being produced in his view. The color plates are well presented, but the complete works are small, black and white reproductions that do not provide the detail I would want for viewing. Finally, Mondrian’s works are presented based on place produced, not on date, so seeing the transition in style through Mondrian’s career is very difficult.

The book is still worth a look because of the number of works shown, but it really could have been presented in a much more useful way.