Mondrian: The Art of Destruction

Piet Mondrian (1872-1944) was one of the greatest artists of the twentieth century. His influence on the development of abstract painting and sculpture - and on decorative industrial and commercial art of every kind - remains profound. In this new volume, Carel Blotkamp, a well-known authority on the artist, provides the most lucid study to date of Mondrian's work.

Arts & Photography

BLOTKAMP, Carel

History & Criticism

Harry N.Abrams, Inc.

The seventeen essays in this provocative book provide a radical rethinking of abstraction, from the Symbolism that prefigured abstract art through the current manifestations of spiritual content in American and European painting.

The Spiritual in Art: Abstract Painting 1890-1985

Los Angeles County Museum of Art

Freeman, Judi

Haags Gemeentemus

Abbeville Press

Mondrian: the art of destruction

Abrams

When is a work of art finished? Can it be complete in a mental sense? Who decides? And can we tell which work is an artist’s last? In this highly original and wide-ranging study, Carel Blotkamp explores the concept and manifestations of “the end” in art. From the idea of a mortal end to the notion of completeness, Blotkamp describes a fascinating array of historical facts and myths as well as novels centered on art and artists. He examines the value of the last works of artists, considering how a particular end came about and how that might affect our perception of the work. He also explores the difference in the styles of artists in old age, compares unfinished last works with those completed by another’s hand, and uncovers the mythology inherent in the reception of last works, taking the last works of Raphael and Mondrian as prime examples. For students, artists, and art enthusiasts looking for a new perspective on modern art, The End is the perfect place to start.

The End: Artists' Late and Last Works

Reaktion Books

This book on Mondrian, one of the great pioneers of abstract art, analyzes the interrelation between his paintings and his theories on art and life as expressed in public writings and (largely unpublished) letters. Mondrian's art was not based on reasoning or calculation – on the contrary, intuition was central to his concept of the artistic process – but he always felt a strong urge to position his art in a wider cultural and philosophical context. Crucial to Mondrian's thought was the Theosophical notion of evolution, which required the destruction of the old to make room for the new, in life, in society and in art. Mondrian: The Art of Destruction concentrates on the paintings, the artist's major achievement, examining the influences that shaped his art: Fauvism and Cubism c.1910, the work of Bart van der Leck, De Stijl and the Parisian art world during the 1920s. Mondrian appears not as an isolated figure, but as an artist who took a keen interest in the world around him, a veritable avant-garde painter who saw his role as a creator of a new, modern culture.

Vincent van Gogh was an artist wholly saturated in the colors and contours of the landscapes in which he lived and painted. More than Manet or Gauguin, nature itself was his muse and teacher: "it is not the language of painters but the language of nature which one should listen to, the feeling for the things themselves, for reality is more important than the feeling for pictures," he once avowed. "Between Earth and Heaven" is the first book to provide a comprehensive survey of van Gogh's work as a landscape painter, identifying the stylistic transitions that were specific to this aspect of his work. It shows how the earthy tones of his early Dutch phase were gradually replaced by a lighter style following his relocation to Paris, and how, in the south of France, the artist discovered the intense, brilliant colors and vital expression that have made his paintings so fascinating to this day. Essays by renowned art historians and specialists explore this facet of van Gogh's oeuvre, examining both the artist's blockbuster landscape works and lesser-known paintings. 
Although he witnessed little success during his lifetime, today Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890) is rated as one of the greatest Dutch painters in history. He produced the majority of his work--some 900 paintings and 1,100 drawings--during a brief span of ten years, before he succumbed to mental illness and committed suicide at the age of 37. A seminal figure in the Post-Impressionist movement and an early pioneer of Expressionism, van Gogh is today one of the world's most famous artists.

Vincent Van Gogh: Between Earth and Heaven, the Landscapes

Kunstmuseum Basel

Vincent van Gogh was an artist wholly saturated in the colors and contours of the landscapes in which he lived and painted. More than Manet or Gauguin, nature itself was his muse and teacher: "it is not the language of painters but the language of nature which one should listen to, the feeling for the things themselves, for reality is more important than the feeling for pictures," he once avowed. Between Earth and Heaven is the first book to provide a comprehensive survey of van Gogh's work as a landscape painter, identifying the stylistic transitions that were specific to this aspect of his work. It shows how the earthy tones of his early Dutch phase were gradually replaced by a lighter style following his relocation to Paris, and how, in the south of France, the artist discovered the intense, brilliant colors and vital expression that have made his paintings so fascinating to this day. Essays by renowned art historians and specialists explore this facet of van Gogh's oeuvre, examining both the artist's blockbuster landscape works and lesser-known paintings. Although he witnessed little success during his lifetime, today Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890) is rated as one of the greatest Dutch painters in history. He produced the majority of his work--some 900 paintings and 1,100 drawings--during a brief span of ten years, before he succumbed to mental illness and committed suicide at the age of 37. A seminal figure in the Post-Impressionist movement and an early pioneer of Expressionism, van Gogh is today one of the world's most famous artists.

Vincent van Gogh: Between Earth and Heaven: The Landscapes

Feilchenfeldt, Walter

Boehm, Gottfried

Hatje Cantz

Many of today's artists display an affinity for the techniques and subjects of 1960s and 70s conceptual art. A new look at the work of Bas Jan Ader, Carl Andre, Art &amp; Language, John Baldessari, Marcel Broodthaers, Daniel Buren, Jan Dibbets, Gilbert &amp; George, Joseph Kosuth, Sol Lewitt, Bruce Nauman, On Kawara, Edward Ruscha, Robert Ryman, Robert Smithson, Lawrence Weiner, and others bears exploring in relation to the processes and themes of contemporary art. By considering conceptual art in the Netherlands and Belgium from 1965-1975, this publication hopes to answer such questions, especially in relation to the Netherlands as a melting pot for ideas and the importance of Dutch institutions in supporting and disseminating conceptual art.

Conceptual Art In The Netherlands And Belgium 1965-1975

Visser, Hripsimé

van Winkel, Camiel

NAi Publishers/Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam

Stedelijk Collection Reflections is published to mark the much-anticipated reopening of the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam after an eight-year renovation that also saw it gain a daringly designed new wing, affectionately nicknamed “The Bathtub.” This massive (644-page) publication features 43 fully illustrated essays on the Museum’s famous collection, and thereby provides an overview of over 150 years of international developments in the applied and visual arts, photography, and graphic and industrial design. The contributors--renowned Dutch and international specialists--discuss specific works and significant themes in the collection in detail, and each essay offers a new perspective on important and influential artists, designers or movements. Together, the essays make clear how the special character of the Stedelijk collection--which ranges from Monet, Cézanne and Van Gogh to Gilbert &amp; George and Tracey Emin--has evolved over the years.

Stedelijk Collection Reflections: Reflections on the Collection of the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam

GREEN, Christopher

Boomgaard, Jeroen

Collections, Catalogs & Exhibitions

nai010 publishers

Carel Visser Genesis (Multilingual Edition)

Waanders Uitgevers

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