Piet Mondrian

Composition C (No.III) with Red, Yellow and Blue

1935

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In Tate Modern

Shape of Light: 100 Years of Photography and Abstract Art

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Artist
Piet Mondrian 1872–1944
Medium
Oil paint on canvas
Dimensions
Unconfirmed: 560 x 552 mm
frame: 717 x 708 x 64 mm
Collection
Lent from a private collection 1981
On long term loan
Reference
L00097

Display caption

This composition is a prime example Mondrian’s astonishingly limited visual language. It consists of just horizontal and vertical lines in black, with planes of white and the three primary colours, from which all other colours are derived by mixing. The structure, the order of the elements in a coherent whole and the pure colour were meant to suggest an ethical view of society. Each individual element and the configuration to which it contributes were intended to symbolise the relationship between the individual and the collective, or the universal.

Gallery label, November 2015

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Neo-plasticism

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