Piet Mondrian (1872 - 1944)
Piet Mondrian (1872 - 1944) was one of the most influential Dutch painters in 20th century art. After studying at Amsterdam's National Academy for Fine Arts in 1892, his pictorial development began with traditional and naturalistic landscape paintings. Gradually, he turned towards Fauvism and later, when he settled in Paris, Cubism, before finally moving into Abstraction in about 1914. Along with Kandinsky and Malevitch, he became one of the founders and key figures in Abstract art, systematically applying a graphic language intended specifically to erase visible reality.
In order to explain his evolution from Cubism to Abstract art, Mondrian wrote: "Gradually, I became aware that Cubism did not accept the logical consequences of its own discoveries."
