Composition with Red, Yellow, and Blue

Composition with Red, Yellow, and Blue by Piet Mondrian, completed in 1927, is a quintessential example of Neoplasticism, the highly influential abstract movement championed by the artist. Executed in oil on canvas, this work embodies Mondrian’s commitment to purifying artistic expression down to its most fundamental elements. The formal vocabulary is strictly limited to the three primary colors (red, yellow, blue) and the three primary non-colors (white, black), arranged within a geometric grid.

Mondrian's composition achieves a dynamic balance through the precise placement of rectangular forms and the rigorous structuring provided by thick, straight black lines. These lines intersect only at 90-degree angles, defining the boundaries of the colored and white planes. The deliberate asymmetry ensures that the canvas avoids static perfection, instead generating a sense of controlled, internal tension. Mondrian sought to use this reduced aesthetic to convey universal order and harmony, believing that painting should transcend the subjective and the descriptive. The controlled technique eliminates visible brushwork, emphasizing the painting’s surface flatness and objective reality.

As a major figure from the Netherlands, Mondrian’s rigorous system of abstraction profoundly impacted not only painting but also architecture and design throughout the 20th century. This important canvas, which solidifies his mature geometric style, is held in the permanent collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art. The iconic status of this piece ensures its continued influence; high-quality digital resources and fine art prints of Mondrian's major compositions remain essential references for students and scholars of modern abstraction.