At the beginning of the previous century, a group of artists wanted to shake up the art world. A lot was changing at that time; the world was ‘modernising’ at breakneck speed. Art was being left behind, they thought. Why continue to produce paintings that look like real life, when a new technology allows you to take a photo?
What they wanted was paintings, buildings, toys and furniture that fitted into the new age. All designed using simple resources. Rectangular shapes, red, blue and yellow. Black, white and grey were permitted too. And clean, straight lines. Their ideas came together in a new magazine they called De Stijl (The Style). De Stijl called for a new art for a new world and is still going strong a century later.
Joost Swarte chose ten artists that were part of De Stijl or were influenced by the movement. He depicts their studio and how they worked in an homage that shows what made these artists, architects and designers unforgettable.
