Piet Mondrian

Pieter Cornelis Mondriaan ( Dutch: [ˈpitər kɔrˈneːlɪs ˈmɔndrijaːn]; 7 March 1872 – 1 February 1944), known after 1911 as Piet Mondrian (/piːt ˈmɒndriɑːn/, US also /- ˈmɔːn-/; Dutch: [pit ˈmɔndrijɑn]), was a Dutch painter and art theoretician, who is regarded as one of the greatest artists of the 20th century. He was one of the pioneers of 20th-century abstract art, as he changed his artistic direction from figurative painting to an increasingly abstract style, until he reached a point where his artistic vocabulary was taken down to simple geometric elements.

Mondrian's art was highly utopian, and was concerned with a search for universal values and aesthetics. He proclaimed in 1914, "Art is higher than reality and has no direct relation to reality. To approach the spiritual in art, one will make as little use as possible of reality, because reality is opposed to the spiritual. We find ourselves in the presence of an abstract art. Art should be above reality, otherwise it would have no value for man."