destijl
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be allowed. De Stijl was the ultimate abstraction, simplicity, clarity, harmony and equilibrium. The designers distilled everything down to the bare minimum and filtered out all representational elements. De Stijl forced the audience to There was a turning away from old forms and philosophies among architects and designers after World War I. A lot of the same abstract ideas came into play as well as ideas that incorporated the “machine” aesthetics of this new industrial age. De Stijl (Dutch for ‘The Style’) is a movement formed by a group of architects and artists influenced by some of the ideas of Dada. It was launched in the Netherlands in the late summer of 1917. According to Meggs’ History of Graphic Design, De Stijl artists sought universal laws of balance and harmony for art, which could then be a prototype for a new social order. The initial source of their ideas came from Dada notions about dispensing with the pretentious elitist design aesthetics of the pre war era. Some of the early work of Frank Lloyd Wright, which had been published in Europe in
think about their relationship to the world, relating them to the color, space, and form around them. The founder and leader of this movement was Theo van Doesburg. He was also a Dutch painter, decorator, poet, art theorist, and one of the most daring and influential artists of the avant garde. Theo van Doesburg promoted this movement across Europe and moved to Weimar in 1922 to make an impression on Walter Gropius, the Bauhaus principal to spread the influence. Other founders of this movement included Piet Mondrian, Georges Vantongerloo, Jacobus Johannes Pieter Oud, and Gerrit Rietveld. With their prescribed visual vocabulary, De Stijl artists sought an expression of the mathematical structure of the universe and the universal harmony of nature.
1910, influenced their notions about form. Japanese sources were also of significance, though these ideas may have been derived through the work of Wright. This philosophy was based on functionalism, with a severe and doctrinaire insistence of the rectilinearity of the places, which seem to slide across one another like sliding panels. All surface decoration except color was to be eliminated, and only pure primary colors, plus black and white were to ONE
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BOOK COVER, THEO VAN DOESBURG x L.M NAGY
This 1925 cover by Theo Van Doesburg collaborated with Hungarian artist Laszlo Moholy-Nagy for the former’s book Grundbegriffe der neun gestaltenden (Principles of Modern Design) is a definite example of the De Stijl movement. In this piece, the designer is well aware of how to organize space with the use of color and lines. The three primary colors, red, blue and yellow are used effectively to organize the surrounding elements and represents De Stijl principles. Line is also used seen as the thick black bars on the cover to separate the three primary colors and the white space, as well as to emphasize the name of the book and the names of the artists. The effective use of these heavy black lines combined with the knock out white typography surrounded by geometric, red, blue, yellow and white squares create unity and visual hierarchy. This book cover is also successful in keeping the audience occupied. Although it is a simple design, the use of these different types of elements seen on the cover (color, line, hierarchy, unity) helps move the audience’s eye around the entire piece. The eye travels from left to right, then down to left again, and creates this circle, which engages the audience into the cover. It is very visually pleasing to look at because everything is organized so effectively. No element on this composition is heavy or displeasing to the eye, which becomes extremely important when creating a design. three
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RED AND BLUE CHAIR, GERRIT RIETVELD he designed in 1917 was shown in the journal “De Stijl” and was also exhibited in a show mounted by the Bauhaus, where it made a tremendous impact. This chair consists of straight boards and battens with very rectilinear shapes that were lacquered blue, red yellow and black. The cut surfaces of the frame battens are yellow, and the battens themselves are black as seen in the photograph. The seat is blue, with the back being red. The colors used in this chair are undoubtedly a principle of the De Stijl movement, and according to his biography by the Art Market, Gerrit Rietveld himself seemed to have viewed his chair as a work of art since he called it a “spatial creation”, designating a sculpture in space, rather than a piece of furniture. The composition of this piece is so simple and elegant; it immediately grabs your attention because of the unique construction and design of the chair. Rietveld use of color is very effective in bringing out emphasis of the entire design and to bring emphasis to his product, especially in his placement of each of these colors. The use of yellow on the cut surfaces of the frame battens does not overpower or overwhelm the piece as it might have done if placed on a different part such as the seat or the back of the chair. It really helps to pull the chair together and create unity, as well as brighten up the chair emotionally. Again, the color Gerrit Rietveld was one of the founders of the De Stijl
choices and placement is extremely effective, which is very
movement and was a Dutch designer, architect and painter.
pleasing to the eye. The eye is not blinded or overwhelmed
He became one of the most important and influential artists
with the yellow because of the controlled placement, and
in this group with his designs. The Red and Blue chair that
everything is balanced so perfectly.
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COVER DESIGN, VILMOS HUSZAR
TITLE PAGES, VILMOS HUSZAR
There are absolutely no curvilinear elements on both the cover and the title pages, keeping his design very consistent. Huszár uses white space effectively by giving the audience visual breathing room because of the intricate and busy layout. His use of the rectilinear geometry is almost puzzlelike in both the centerpiece and the logo, and the overall design is vertical. The justified text that perfectly aligns with all the other elements executes visual hierarchy and unity. The choice of font is also kept consistent with the other shapes of the elements, and Huszár constantly shows consistency in his design. A similar design style is also seen on the title pages of the De Stijl magazine, this time, with a different layout. The The cover design and title pages for De Stijl by Vilmos
typography is placed on each side of the logo and under,
Huszár is another example of a composition using De Stijl
creating an almost horizontal feel compared to the cover page
principles. This piece combined his composition with type
that was vertical. Huszár continues to use linear and rectilinear
and Theo van Doesburg’s logo to create a concise rectangle
geometry, and an effective use of space throughout all three
in the center of the page. All of the shapes seen on the cover
pieces. He presented a positive/negative figure/ground study
only consist of rectilinear geometry and straight edges.
in spatial relationships.
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COVER DESIGN, THEO VAN DOESBURG
ADVERTISEMENT, THEO VAN DOESBURG
This piece is another cover for De Stijl designed by Theo van Doesburg in 1922. Instead of the composition being vertical, this piece is composed horizontally unlike many of the other designs during this movement. Theo van Doesburg also uses typography in a very interesting manner. He plays with the type, which is asymmetrically balanced in the four corners to create an implied rectangle. I also see a flipped ‘Z’ layout, which definitely contributes in executing visual hierarchy and harmony within the elements. De Stijl is combined with the letters N and B, which indicated Nieuwe Beelden (New Images) according to Meggs’ History of Graphic Design. Theo van Doesburg is effective in keeping the viewer engaged in many of his pieces. In this 1922 cover for De Stijl, his placement of type keeps the eye moving from one element to another.
This advertisement from the magazine De Stijl by Theo van Doesburg in 1921 includes five messages that are unified by a system of open bars and sans-serif typography. He again uses his horizontal format in this piece that he developed in 1921. His messages are divided with thick black lines that are rectilinear in shape and emphasize each section of the advertisement. The way that these lines are placed gives a sense of organization, and again effectively uses space to create a visually pleasing layout. It is clear to the audience which message/section is which because of the way the type is organized. Theo van Doesburg also uses the color red on the first segment to bring emphasis to this message. He also plays with the font sizes to bring emphasis to certain phrases/words. This keeps the copy interesting throughout the composition because the typography is not boring and consistent.
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BATAVIER LINE POSTER, BART VAN DER LECK Gerrit Rietveld designed the Schroder House in Utrecht. According to Meggs’ History of Graphic Design, this house was so radical that neighbors threw rocks, and the Schroder children were taunted by their classmates at school. This house was built for Mrs. Tuus Schrōder-Schräder and her three children and is located in Utrecht, Netherlands. This house is one of the best examples of the De Stijl architecture because everything was inspired and influenced by the De Stijl movements’ principles.
SCHRODER HOUSE, GERRIT RIETVELD
The Batavier Line poster designed by Bart van der Leck in 1916 uses flat pure colors and bold horizontal and vertical spatial divisions that build the design. This poster executes De Stijl principles in its bold, thick black lines and sans serif font, but the colors used and the imagery does not. It is stated in Meggs’ History of Graphic Design that because of World War I, this poster could not be used; the shipping lines between the Netherlands and the United Kingdom were severed. When it was eventually employed during the 1920s the text and colors were changed, infuriating Bart van der Leck. This piece is the first printing of the poster and reflects the original design of the artist.
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COVER FOR KLASSEIK BAROK, MODERNE THEO VAN DOESBURG The cover for Klasseik Barok, Moderne (Classic, Baroque, Modern) was designed by Theo van Doesburg in 1920. For this book cover, Theo van Doesburg used his own letterforms. He applies horizontal and vertical structure to letterforms and is kept tight. Asymmetrically balanced layouts were again executed in this poster to create an implied rectangular shape. I again also see a flipped ‘Z’ layout that is applied to this cover to create visual hierarchy, harmony, and to keep the audience’s eye busy. As you can see in this piece, Theo van Doesburg is again very successful in keeping a consistent flow with his elements. He also plays with positive and negative space in his typography. He uses reverse type in two-thirds of the text where the black rectangular shapes are to create emphasis to the center of the composition. Although Theo van Doesburg keeps his work flat and for this piece, uses two colors: black and white; the contrast and the placement of each element shows balance, and also creates a focal point. The focal point for this cover is in the center where the type is reversed against the two black rectangular shapes. The rectilinear consistency that he keeps harmonizes the piece because each element, even the font, has a logical relationship with each other and complements each other.
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DADAIST POETRY, THEO VAN DOESBURG This Dadaist
FACADE OF THE CAFE DE UNIE, J.J.P OUD The façade of the Café de Unie by Jacobus Johannes
poetry from De Stijl
Pieter Oud is an asymmetrical façade, projecting De Stijl’s
under the pseudonym
vision of order on a new environmental scale. J.J.P Oud uses
I.K. Bonset by Theo
a sans serif typeface to accommodate the principles of the De
van Doesburg in 1921
Stijl movement, which complements very well with the overall
shows that type size,
design. The colors used are the traditional De Stijl colors, red,
weight, and style can
blue, yellow, black, and white. In this façade, he successfully
be interpreted vocally
combines architectural and graphic forms with contrasting,
when reading the
vibrant colors and scale to execute a unified and balanced
poem aloud. According to Meggs’ History of Graphic Design,
composition. The asymmetrically balanced elements including
he saw Dada and De Stijl as opposite but complementary
rectilinear shapes and lines, combined with the primary colors
movements. Dada could destroy the old order, and then De
emphasize the entire façade, accomplishing a very bold and
Stijl could build a new order on the razed site of prewar culture.
vibrant design. If I were to see this while walking down a
In this piece, he again uses sans-serif type and plays with the
street, it would undoubtedly catch my attention, and I would
boldness and font sizes of certain type to create emphasis and
probably stop and view the
an interesting way of displaying type. The variation creates
details to see how this
movement in a way because it gets the viewer engaged and
façade was designed.
wanting to read what is on the rest of the page. He centers his
In America, Oud was
text and effectively uses space to create visual hierarchy and to
considered one of the
make the text easier to read as well as more alluring. The way
greatest modern architects
that he has certain letters bolder and bigger than other really
along with other architects
catches my attention and intrigues me to continue viewing the
such as Ludwig Mies van
entire layout. Repetition can also be seen within the type as
der Rohe, Le Corbusier, and
he has some of the same phrases repeated underneath each
Walter Gropius. These four
other. This is effective when getting the message across to the
were clearly featured in Philip
audience because it forces the viewer to read and view it as
Johnson’s International Style
many times as it is repeated on the piece.
exhibition.
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FACADE OF THE CAFE DE UNIE
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EXHIBITION POSTER, BART ANTHONY VAN DER LECK The exhibition poster by Bart Anthony van der Leck designed in 1919 shows pictorial art combined with De Stijl principles. He diverted De Stijl’s vocabulary toward elemental images, and successfully creates the appropriate mood to represent the De Stijl movement. Bart Anthony van der Leck’s open compositions of forms constructed of horizontal, vertical, and diagonal lines and shapes separated by spatial intervals are also found in works ranging from early posters to book designs and illustrations of the 1940s, portraying that Van der Leck was exceptionally successful in many of designs, such as this one. He uses a typeface that is similar to the De Stijl logo to create harmony, unity, visual hierarchy and consistency in this poster. The shapes seen in the center, which looks like a man riding a horse, is created out of the shapes that are composed in the typeface. The effective use of the color yellow to distinguish between the two is very clever, especially when creating a piece that is almost abstract. The blue rectangle, followed by the thinner red rectangular line, and the bigger red rectangle creates and implied rectangular shape that create the focal point of the composition. The yellow pulls the three together elements as harmonious units, which definitely work together and complement each other. It has harmonious similarity in its consistency of elements, and every element relates to each other. The placement of the typography breaks the viewers eyes from the forced implied rectangle that is the focal point, and adequately sends the message of this exhibition event across to the audience. seventeen
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SIMULTANEOUS COUNTER-COMPOSITION THEO VAN DOESBURG
The Simultaneous Counter-Composition designed by Theo van Doesburg in 1929 is an oil on canvas painting found in the Museum of Modern Art in New York. He uses the three primary colors, white and black and executes the De Stijl movement principles. What I found interesting about this piece is that instead of every element executed at a straight, flat 90-degree angle, the shapes appeared skewed and scattered throughout the composition. This repetition of the squares creates movement within the piece and gives the illusion that the shapes are falling off the page. Repeating the square elements throughout the page definitely help create interest, movement and unity. Although at first glance it may not seem balanced, but if you look at this piece closely, despite the skewed shapes and placement, there is visual hierarchy because there is not a single heavy element that bothers the eye. The thick black lines that come in from the left yellow square and into the red and blue squares help organize these shapes because of the black square in the top right corner. The relationship of the black lines and the square cutting into these colored squares create a unified whole and also create harmony with each element. I also think that these lines help create a visually pleasing piece because the yellow and the red is a lot lighter than the black and blue colors, therefore the black rule that comes into these elements
SIMULTANEOUS COUNTER-COMPOSITION
help to ease the tension of these contrasting colors, and also balance the color of the entire artwork. nineteen
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SIDEBOARD, GERRIT RIETVELD
COMPOSITION WITH RED, YELLOW AND BLUE PIET MONDRIAN
The Sideboard designed by Gerrit Rietveld in 1927 is another great example of the De Stijl movement. This was designed following the aesthetics of De Stijl, with the overall rectilinear shape and the simple, yet intricate and wellthought design. There is a lot of consistency in the choice of materials, shape, and color used throughout this composition. The structure and design of this piece definitely has some similarities with the “Red Blue” chair, especially with the intricate placement of some of these pieces, and the choice in placement of color. He chose to use white on the cut surfaces, similar to his use of yellow on the cut surfaces of the “Red Blue” chair. Rietveld keeps this consistent through this Sideboard design, and also shows bilateral symmetry. His numerous rules and rectilinear shapes throughout this piece definitely represent elements that were commonly used in De Stijl compositions. This piece by Rietveld was one of the most important works that was to be identified with the De Stijl movement. Composition with Red, Yellow, and Blue created by Piet Mondrian in 1922 is painted with oil on canvas, again using the colors of the De Stijl movement principles. This is one of SIDEBOARD
the well known and probably the most seen example of the De Stijl movement because of the overall aesthetics that can be seen throughout the composition. Line and shape are present with the thick black rules, and the surrounding rectilinear twenty one
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EXHIBITION POSTER 1925, THEO VAN DOESBURG shapes. It is really interesting to see how Mondrian placed the
Theo van Doesburg also
different sized rectangles throughout the composition because
designed an exhibition poster
this placement leads to harmony and visual hierarchy of the
in 1925 for The Little Review
piece. The first color that pops out when you first glance at
Gallery in New York. This
this piece is the red. Next my eye travels to the blue, then to
was composed out of pencil,
the yellow. Although the red square in the top right is the most
gouache, and Indian ink on
eye-catching and bold due to the size, my eyes still travel
transparent paper. He does
from one color to another, and the white space along with the
an interesting and intriguing
black rules make this composition visually pleasing. Despite
layout with different shapes
the large differences in size, there is no focal point because
and incorporating the De Stijl
my eyes do not stop at one particular spot and stay there.
colors, red, yellow, blue, white
I believe that this is very difficult to accomplish when using
and black. He has his overall
such a vibrant color and a large portion of it. And although
canvas skewed, with the
the proportion of these shapes seen in this piece is vast, all
shapes being rectilinear shapes, but bled off the page to create
the elements tie in together perfectly to create a successful
this effect. Theo van Doesburg definitely accomplishes and
work of art. The asymmetrical placement of these rectilinear
executes successful visual hierarchy because of this compelling
shapes. and the combination of the interesting and intriguing
layout and how the audience is kept occupied and interested
placement of color work together to create harmony and unity.
in this poster. The typography on this poster is handwritten and displays movement with some of the text going from top left to bottom right, and some of the text going from the bottom left to the top right. It almost looks like the text is flowing down from one another inside these rectilinear shapes and expresses a sense of movement. There is also consistency and repetition with the shapes and the text to create a unified poster. Although the type is quite small for a poster, the contrast in color does make the text stand out and the white space also makes this composition very easy to read.
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Works Cited
It is almost unbelievable that this idea of finding new aesthetics of art and principles and to find a way to express the idea of spiritual harmony and order through art started from a
“Design History Mashup: De Stijl Movement: Theo Van Does burg & Gerrit Rietveld.” Design History Mashup: De Stijl Movement: Theo Van Doesburg & Gerrit Rietveld. N.p., 1 Apr. 2008. Web. 05 Dec. 2013. “Gerrit Thomas Rietveld Biography - Infos - Art Market.” Gerrit Thomas Rietveld Biography - Infos - Art Market. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Dec. 2013. Jirousek, Charlotte. “De Stijl.” De Stijl. Art, Design and Visual Thinking, n.d. Web. 05 Dec. 2013. Meggs, Philip B., and Alston W. Purvis. Meggs’ History of Graphic Design. Hoboken: J. Wiley & Sons, 2012. Print.
simple magazine and turned into an influential art movement. The way that all of these artists during this movement expressed a meaningful message, while keeping a beautiful design with the use of three primary colors (or sometimes even less) is definitely inspiring. This movement inspired many other designers in modern design and modern architecture, and conveys the intention of the designer very abstractly. This combination of ideas from separate individuals undeniably makes this movement one of the most impactful art movements of all time.
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