2025-02-06
From a dictionary point of view, Neoplasticism is considered an art direction created in the Netherlands in the 1920s by artists associated with the De Stijl group. This group was founded in Leiden in 1917 by Theo van Doesburg (1883-1931) and Piet Mondrian (1872-1944).
It is worth mentioning at the outset that De Stijl is, in addition to the group's name, the title of a magazine published by the Dutch painter, designer, writer and critic Theo van Doesburg. The reader of the magazine could learn, among other things, that Neoplastic art rejected representational and naturalistic elements. Furthermore, it distinguished between basic lines - horizontal and vertical - which worked as opposites, a passive force (the horizontal line, also signifying femininity) and an active force (the vertical line, also signifying masculinity). The most important colours included three primary colours: yellow, blue and red, and three non-colours: white, black and grey. Neoplasticism favoured a single figure - the rectangle.
Due to the crucial importance to the group of its founder van Doesburg, the grouping disintegrated shortly after his death in 1931. It is worth mentioning that in the 1930s the direction infiltrated fashion, and that Stijl also influenced architecture - one of the most important proponents of the group's principles was Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. He was a German modernist architect, and for a time also held the position of director of the Bauhaus.
In addition to Theo van Doesburg and Piet Mondrian, it is worth mentioning a few more names associated with the de Stijl group, including the sculptor Constantin Brâncuși (1876-1957), the painter, graphic artist and poet Hans Arp (1887-1966), and the painter František Kupka (1871-1957).
Neoplastic paintings can be seen in many of the best art museums in Europe and America, including the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York and the Tate Gallery in London.