This article examines the strategies and means Piet Mondrian (1872-1944) employed to attract attention to his work and ideas, and the kind of success this brought him. The authors have concentrated on the years 1911-1919, because Mondrian’s work underwent drastic changes at this time and the period...

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Hauptverfasser:	Coppes, Wietse (VerfasserIn), Jansen, Leo 1960- (VerfasserIn)
Format:	Artikel
Sprache:	English
Veröffentlicht:	2022
Schlagworte:	Schelfhout, Lodewijk > 1881-1944 Mondrian, Piet > 1872-1944 Bremmer, Henricus P. > 1871-1956 Slijper, Salomon B. > 1884-1971 Doesburg, Theo van > 1883-1931 Esser, Johannes F. S. > 1878-1946 Geschichte 1911-1919 Erfolg Netzwerk
Zusammenfassung:	This article examines the strategies and means Piet Mondrian (1872-1944) employed to attract attention to his work and ideas, and the kind of success this brought him. The authors have concentrated on the years 1911-1919, because Mondrian’s work underwent drastic changes at this time and the period is well documented. Our findings were tested against the ‘laws’ of success as formulated by Alan Bowness in The conditions of success (1989) and Albert-László Barabási in The formula (2018). Although, as a case study, Mondrian could be considered to conform partially with the theories laid down by Bowness and Barabási, his career also flouts them. Joining various artists’ societies and exhibition initiatives allowed Mondrian to build up a reputation as a talented artist in the years to 1910. He also created a strong network of collectors, critics and museum curators, which enabled him to sell his work, although he still had to make other kinds of work to earn a living. When, around 1908, what he produced became too modern for the art climate of the Netherlands, he looked for new ways to gain recognition for his endeavours, which were focused on finding an expressive form for a new, spiritual art. In 1912 he moved to Paris to take advantage of the modernising influence of Cubism there. However, his stay was cut short by the outbreak of the First World War. Back in the Netherlands, he had to find new supporters for his now radically changed art. He did this by once again choosing suitable moments to strike up new relationships, or maintain existing ones, with the right people in the art world. Meeting Theo van Doesburg (1883-1931) led to the founding of De Stijl magazine, in which Mondrian published his art-theoretical creed ‘De nieuwe beelding in de schilderkunst’ (‘Neo-Plasticism in painting’). This positioned him within the context of the international avant-garde for a long time to come. Yet Mondrian never enjoyed major success among a broader audience. In fact, he was unsuccessful, according to the models formulated by Bowness and Barabási, because he did not become rich and famous. However, Mondrian’s priority was never personal success, but the dissemination of his art and his theory of art, which pointed the way to a better society for the people of the future.
Beschreibung:	Illustrationen
ISSN:	0030-672X