Composition with Red, Blue, Black, Yellow, and Gray
Piet Mondrian
Dutch, 1872–1944
1921
An oil on canvas in which Mondrian reduces painting to vertical and horizontal black lines and flat colored planes to express a universal harmony of form.
You first notice the austere black grid dividing the surface into asymmetrical rectangles—a deep blue and a large pale gray hold the eye while a small red bar and a yellow square punctuate the restrained palette, the flat colors animated by subtle brushy texture.
This painting marks Mondrian’s move toward Neo‑Plasticism, reducing art to essential geometric relationships and primary colors and helping to shape modernist design, architecture, and later minimalism.
Medium
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
29 7/8 x 20 5/8" (76 x 52.4 cm)
Classification
Department
Credit
Gift of John L. Senior, Jr.
Accession
154.1957
Palette
Art Terms
Exhibitions
