Art of prehistoric and Predynastic Egypt

I have earlier provided an overview of the origins, timeline, and examples of prehistoric art but, due to the importance of Egyptian art in the development of Greek and Roman art, a detour into Egyptian art of this period is warranted.

According to metmuseum.org, "In Egypt, millenia before the advent of powerful dynasties and wealth-laden tombs, early settlements are known from modest scatters of stone tools and animal bones at such sites as Wadi Kubbaniya."

"The Predynastic Period of Ancient Egypt corresponds to the late Neolithic and covers the cultural and social changes which occurred between the late Paleothic period and the early Pharonic era" (thoughtco.com). Prior to the Predynastic, however, there were Paleolithic and Neolithic groups stretching back thousands of years. Both the prehistoric and Predynastic periods are divided into cultural eras, each named after the place where a certain type of Egyptian settlement was first discovered. The chart below shows the various cultures that are included in the two periods.

"During the Predynastic Period, Egyptians developed a written language ... and institutionalized religion. They developed  a settled agricultural civilization along the fertile dark soils of the Nile (which involved the revolutionary use of the plough) during a period in which Northern Africa was becoming arider and the edges of the Western (and Saharan) desert spread" (thoughtco.com). Also during this period, "ceramic figurines, mace heads, and other artifacts such as slate palettes used for grinding pigments, begin to appear, as does imagery that will become iconic during the Pharonic era ... " (Calvert, et al., Smarthistory guide to Ancient Egyptian art, Smarthistory, 2019.)

Examples of art of this period are depicted in the chart below.

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Piet Mondrian: The factors influencing his move from Amsterdam to Paris

The paintings Piet Mondrian executed upon his return to Amsterdam from Brabant in 1905 differed from contemporary Netherlands art in that it had "a pronounced rythmic framework and a compositional structure rather than toward the traditional picturesque values of light and shade," but between 1905 and 1911, he would be subjected to a number of experiences that would further influence his painterly direction and eventually lead to his relocation to Paris to pursue what he saw as the future of art.

The first of these experiences was a 1905 Vincent van Gogh exhibition organized by Jo, the sister-in-law of the deceased artist. Jo had been married to Theo for only two years when he died "leaving Jo with a baby and an apartment filled with Vincent's artwork." Theo's goal had been to elevate the visibility of his brother's artwork; with his passing, Jo took on that task. One of her most ambitious efforts was the largest ever retrospective of Vincent's work held at Amsterdam's Stedelijk Museum in 1905. The exhibition, which featured 480 pieces of van Gogh's work, made an enormous impression on Mondrian.

The second experience was the Quadrennial Exhibition held in Amsterdam in 1907 and featuring the Post-Impressionist works of Kees van Dongen, Otto van Rees, and Jan Sluijters. "The forceful expression and use of color inherent in Post-Impressionism are apparent in such works of the period as Red Cloud and Woods near Oele ..."

Red Cloud, 1907
Piet Mondrian

Woods near Oele, 1908
Piet Mondrian

Mondrian adopted several traits of Post-Impressionism and Pointilism as shown in two of his works from the period: Windmill in Sunlight and The Red Tree. For example, he reduced his palette to the basic hues, with Windmill in Sunlight created mainly in yellow, red, and blue.

Mill in Sunlight: The Winkel Mill, 1908
Piet Mondrian

The Red Tree, 1908 - 1910
Piet Mondrian

In 1909 Piet organized an exhibition with Cornelis Spoor and Jan Sleijters at Stedelijk Museum where this type of work was shown. The exhibition featured 250 of Mondrian's works and juxtaposed his early efforts with the later, more modern ones. This show "firmly established the artist as part of the Dutch avant-garde" (prabook.com).

In 1910, his modern works received good reviews at the St Lucas Exhibition in Amsterdam and in 1911 one of his more abstract works was accepted by the Salon des Indépendants.

In 1910 Mondrian co-founded a progressive artists club called Moderne Kunstkring with Jan Sluijters and Conrad Kickert. One of the intentions of the club was the curation of an exhibition of Dutch and foreign artists in Amsterdam. In preparation for the first such exhibition, Mondrian traveled to Paris in 1911 to see the latest artistic trends. 

The group's first exhibition was held at the Stedelijk Museum in 1911 and was the first ever museum presentation of Cubism. It featured artists such as Georges Braque, Raoul Dufy, Le Fauconnais, Pablo Picasso, and Maurice de Vlaminck. Mondrian was deeply impressed with the Cubist works and decided to move to Paris, the home of Cubism.

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Piet Mondrian: The early years of a seminal modern art figure

Today Piet Mondrian "is considered a seminal figure within the development of abstraction, and his oeuvre exerted significant influence on subsequent artists and movements, including the Bauhaus and later Minimilism. His works are included in numerous museum collections worldwide ..." (Sothebys.com). Before arriving at the point of his renown, however, Mondrian "went through many stylistic phases, as his paintings evolved from landscapes and still lifes that looked backwards at time-honored Dutch traditions, to the scintillating geometric canvasses for which he remains best known today." I will explore Mondrian's life and works in a five-part series inclusive of this post.

Tableau I, 1921
Piet Mondrian

Before I begin my exploration of Mondrian's life and works, let us take a look at the Dutch art world that existed at his birth. First, there was a hierarchy in terms of painterly works, with history paintings (included mythology, allegory, and religion; was generally done on a larger scale; and also included recent history) at the top of the pecking order followed by portraiture, genre painting (figures engaged in ordinary activities), still life, and landscape, in that order. There were some aspects of this art hierarchy that were pronounced/unique to Holland: (i) In the still-life arena, animal paintings were popular and (ii) landscapes tended more towards seascapes.

The requirements of the Calvinist theology led to the formation of a new painting regime focused on church interiors. Calvinism held that imagery was idolatrous and, as such, no paintings were allowed in churches. Instead, the focus in the interior of the church was on geometric harmony and balance and artists of the day sought to capture those structures and effects on canvas.

Mondrian was born on March 7th, 1872, in Amersfoort -- a city and municipality in the province of Utrecht -- the second of five children born to Pieter Cornelius Mondriaan and Johnanna Christina Mondriaan. His father was a devout Calvinist who spent his entire career teaching drawing in Calvinist schools. When Piet was 8 years old, his father was promoted to Headmaster of a Calvinist primary school, prompting a family move to Winterswijk. Piet lived in that town until he was 20 years old.

Both his father and uncle gave him guidance and instruction when he began studying drawing at age 14. His uncle -- Fritz Mondriaan -- belonged to the Hague School of landscape painting and had been taught by William Marz, a famed member of that selfsame school.

Piet was bent on becoming a painter but sought to mitigate the concerns of his family by gaining a degree in education first and by 1892 he was qualified to teach drawing in secondary schools. In furtherance of his painting goals he began taking lessons in 1892 in a small town close to his residence. He subsequently moved to Amsterdam to register at the Rijksacademie where he excelled. While in Amsterdam, Piet earned his keep by selling copies of old masterpieces.

He became a member of the Kunstliefde art society in Utrecht and had his first paintings exhibited in 1893. He joined two local artist societies in Amsterdam in 1894 and had a second exhibition of his works in 1897.

Piet Mondriaan

Up to the turn of the century, Piet's paintings followed the trajectory of contemporary Netherlands art. He painted landscapes and still lifes of the areas surrounding Amsterdam.

Wood with Beech Trees, 1899
Piet Mondrian

Mill of Heeswijk Sun, 1904
Piet Mondrian

In 1903 he visited a friend in Brabant and stayed over until the following year. The "calm beauty and cleanliness of the landscape" impacted him, as evidenced by the nature of his work post his return to Amsterdam in 1905. The landscapes he began painting had a "pronounced rythmic framework and a compositional structure rather than toward the traditional picturesque values of light and shade."

Willow Grove: Impression of Light and Shadow, c. 1905
Piet Mondrian

Piet had his first one-man exhibition in 1909, the same year that he became a member of the Theosophic Society. The Society was a spiritual organization centered around the teachings of Buddhism with "prevalent influence in Europe at the start of the 20th century." His involvement "led to a level of spirituality in his paintings which he believed helped his ... audiences reach a holy type of realm when viewing his works." "His involvement within Theosophy went on to influence Mondrian's goal of portraying absolute harmony in his works."

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