De Stijl Philosophy

Mondrian co-founded the De Stijl movement in 1917 with Theo van Doesburg. The name means "The Style" — deliberately singular, implying there was only one correct way to make art. They believed that universal harmony could be expressed through pure geometric relationships and primary colors.

This wasn't just about painting. De Stijl influenced architecture, furniture, and graphic design. Gerrit Rietveld's famous Red-Blue Chair is pure De Stijl. The movement wanted to redesign the entire visual world according to principles of balance and simplicity.