“INTENTION AND EXECUTION”
INVESTIGATING THE MEANING OF THE COLOURS IN THEO VAN DOESBURG’S FLOWER CHAMBER
Lisanne van den Heuvel 10624716
Conservation and Restoration program, Master’s, Technical Art History Supervisors
Dr. Abbie Vandivere, University of Amsterdam
Dr. ir. Mariël Polman, Rijksdienst voor het Cultureel Erfgoed Second Reader
Merel van Schrojenstein Lantman 31 July, 2017
Ik beschouw kleur niet slechts als uitdrukkingsmaterie, maar in verband met de andere deelen van mijn beeldingsleer, als de grondmaterie voor alle andere uitdrukkingswijzen: nl:
architectuur, Plastiek, enz. Theo van Doesburg1
1 Quote by Theo van Doesburg. In Theo van Doesburg: Constructeur van het Nieuwe Leven, Evert van Straaten. Kröller-Müller, 1994. 71.
Table of Contents
Table of contents 3
Introduction 4
Chapter 1: An approximation of the 1925 colours of the painted interior 8
Chapter 2: Theories that influenced Van Doesburg’s design for the
Flower Chamber: ‘Elementarism’ and colour theories 33 Chapter 3: Colour theories that underlie the design on tracing paper
and the 1925 painted interior of the Flower Chamber 52
Conclusion 56
Bibliography 60
English and Dutch Summaries 63
Acknowledgments 66 Appendix I 67 Appendix II 70 Appendix III 104 Appendix IV 117 Appendix V 124 Appendix VI 141
Introduction
The Flower Chamber (Chambre des Fleurs) is a small room, situated in Villa Noailles in Hyères, in the south of France. The design for the painted interior of this room was made by painter, architect and founder of the magazine De Stijl, Theo van Doesburg (Utrecht, August 30, 1883 – Davos, March 7, 1931). This thesis delves into the, until now, unknown meaning of the colours of this design and its execution.
In 1923, the viscount Charles de Noailles (1892-1981) married Marie-Laure
Bisschoffsheim (1902-1970). As a wedding present the newlywed couple received a piece of land in Hyères from Charles’s mother.2 The wealthy couple shared a passion for contemporary art, architecture and horticulture and they decided to build a modern villa on the piece of land on the hill overlooking the town of Hyères. They gave the commission to a modern architect: Robert Mallet-Stevens (1886-1945). This was his first execution of a building, since until then he had only designed maquettes for buildings and decors for movies.3 Mallet-Stevens was an admirer of architectural designs by Theo van Doesburg, whom he had met in 1923 in Paris at an exhibition devoted to architecture of De Stijl, l’Effort Moderne.4 He asked Van Doesburg to make a design for the small Flower Chamber within the new, modernist style villa.5 The Flower Chamber served as a place where the flowers that decorated the villa could be arranged, taken care of and kept overnight, so that the scent of the flowers would not be so overwhelming in the chambers in the morning.6
Van Doesburg agreed to make a design for the small room, which he drew on tracing paper. When he was finished, the design was sent to Villa Noailles, where it was executed by a house painter. Van Doesburg’s wife, Nelly van Doesburg, confirmed that they never actually went to see the villa themselves.7
Having never seen it in person, Van Doesburg may never have known whether the shapes and colours of the painted interior in the Villa Noailles accurately reproduced his drawn design, and how this may have affected the specific meaning that he intended. Van
2 Van Straaten, Theo van Doesburg. Schilder en Architect, 177.
3 Posthuma de Boer. Kleurenonderzoek Bloemenkamer Villa Noailles…, 6. 4 Anthonissen et all. De Stijl- 100 jaar inspiratie…, 73.
5 Ibidem.
6 Van den Berghe, Het sap van de grashalm…, 22. 7 Van den Berghe, Het sap van de grashalm…, 21.
Doesburg is known to have developed a great interest in colour theories: he wrote one himself, and he advocated for the application of colour theory into painter’s practice.8 Many
researchers, art historians, scientists and researchers from other disciplines have written about the composition of the room9; however, so far little attention has been paid to the meaning and intention that Theo van Doesburg meant to express with the colours of the Flower Chamber. This thesis will address the question: How does the execution of the painted interior of the Flower Chamber from 1925 reflect the colour theories that underlie Van Doesburg’s drawn and painted design? This research question will be answered by addressing three different aspects in three chapters:
- Practice (Chapter 1): What did the paint layers of the Flower Chamber look like when they were applied to the walls in 1925?
- Colour theory (Chapter 2): Which colour theories did Van Doesburg refer to at the time he made the design for the Flower Chamber (1924-1925)?
- Theory reflecting on practice (Chapter 3): Which theories were used as inspiration for the colour design by Van Doesburg? How are the theories that underlie the design for the Flower Chamber still visible in the 1925 painted interior?
The first chapter will describe: the state of arts, the appearance and condition of both the design on tracing paper and the painted interior, and technical research into the paint layers. The technical research includes: examinations and analysis of the both objects, and the reconstructions that were made as a result of the 2017 examination of the painted interior of the Flower Chamber. The second chapter discusses both Van Doesburg’s own theory of ‘Elementarism’, his Beeldende constructie-leer, and influences from other theories. The third chapter will be elaborate on how the colour theories that influenced Van Doesburg relate tothe design on tracing paper, and how these are reflected in the execution of the 1925 painted interior.
8 Van Doesburg, Beeldende constructie-leer, Appendix VI. 9 See Chapter 1.1.
0.1 Methodology
As a study within the field of Technical Art History, this thesis hopes to close gap in art historical knowledge, as described in Chapter 1, by focusing on the meaning of the colours of the design on tracing paper and the painted 1925 interior of the Flower Chamber. The current research combines technical examinations of the object itself, with historical source research about colour theory (including some written by the artist himself), and the making of reconstructions.
Research into the Flower Chamber in Villa Noailles has been ongoing since 2014 within the Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands (RCE). The project is part of a program which is called: ‘Erfgoed van de Moderne Tijd’, which runs within the RCE in collaboration with the University of Amsterdam (UvA). The research into the Flower Chamber is part of a specific project within the program which is called: ‘Kleur in het
moderne interieur/ De Stijl’. Much of the previous and ongoing research has been carried out by Mariël Polman, project leader and specialist in architectural paint research at the RCE, Martine Posthuma de Boer (as part of her training at the UvA to become a Conservator of Historic Interiors she did an internship within the RCE in 2014 the resulting report:
Kleurenonderzoek Bloemenkamer Villa Noailles: Interieurschildering naar ontwerp van Theo van Doesburg which can be considered the foundation of this thesis) Luc Megens (researcher at RCE). Art historical research has been conducted by Monique Teunissen Amagat and curator in Villa Noailles and art historian Stephane Boudin-Lestienne and other art historians and curators and scientists within the RCE.10
The current research aims to contribute to this ongoing research project, but focusing specifically on the colours and their meaning. As part of the current research project, several approaches were used to answer the research questions:
1. Examination of the gouache drawing by Van Doesburg, currently in the collection of
the Van Abbemuseum (see chapter 1.2).
10 Previous scientific research as part of Martine Posthuma de Boer’s research into the Flower Chamber has been
2. Examination of the painted interor. In a 5-day excursion to Hyères, together with
Mariël Polman and Abbie Vandivere (UvA) in May 2017, technical examinations were conducted on the paint layers. The different layers exposed in stratigraphies were mapped and related to layers in cross-sections that had been taken in 2014. They were examined and photographed using a handheld Dino-Lite microscope. The technical examinations gave an insight into the complex layer build-up of the paint layers on the walls in Hyères, which are described in Appendix 2.
3. Colour cards were matched to the current appearance of the original layers of the
painted interior.11
4. Reconstructions were made to approximate the original appearance of the paint layers
of the Flower Chamber.
5. An attempt was made to relate the colours to Van Doesburg’s Beeldende constructie-leer and other relevant colour theories.
In this thesis, an attempt will be made to shed new light on the meaning of the colours in Van Doesburg’s architectural designs, while at the same time providing information that could be used in a future conservation treatment of this room. A mock-up of the 1925 appearance of the Flower Chamber will continue to be made under the supervision of Mariël Polman. This mock-up has been developed by the UvA, under the supervision of Reinier Klusener
(Specialist of Furniture Conservation an guest-lecturer at the UvA) and Mariel Polman. The mock-up is currently located within atelier Polman in Bussum, an atelier owned by painter and researcher Leonieke Polman and Niels Kwantes, who greatly continue to contribute to the research project by providing their expert knowledge, materials and paints.
Chapter 1: An approximation of the 1925 colours of the painted interior
This chapter will address issues such as overpainting, colour change and documentation, in order to consider what the colours applied in the painted interior of the Flower Chamber may have looked like in 1925.
Firstly, an overview will be given of the state of the art concerning the Flower Chamber: what has already been documented and written about regarding the colours of its design and execution. In 1968 Jean Leering, former director of the Van Abbemuseum,
discovered that the house painter from 1925 had interpreted Van Doesburg’s design on tracing paper wrongly and that he mirrored the design of the walls in relation to the design on paper.12 Many art historians have analyzed the composition of the design and have discussed mistakes in its interpretation.
Secondly, a description will be given of the current condition of the Flower Chamber’s design on tracing paper, and of the Flower Chamber interior. The colours of this design would have had an effect on the interpretation of the colours that were applied in the interior in 1925. Martine Posthuma de Boer conducted an extensive research into the room in 2014, and
concluded that the whole room was overpainted at least twice. Due to scarce documentation and the fact that the room has been completely overpainted, we do not know how the room would have looked in 1925. She mapped the condition of the paint layers and tried to gain insight into how much of the original paint from 1925 was still present underneath the overpaint. Her research will be summarized, followed by an explanation of the new research that was undertaken by the author of this thesis. The aim of the examinations conducted in 2017 was to connect the original paint layers that have been identified in the cross-sections of the stratigraphies in the Flower Chamber. This research step made it possible to make colour cards matching the original, but degraded paint layers.
The third part of this chapter discusses reconstructions that were made on small panels. In these reconstructions the results of the technical analysis on the paint layers were connected
12 Van den Berghe, Het sap van de grashalm..,: 20. Translated from Dutch by author: ‘Alle wanden werden
with the colour cards made in France. These reconstructions aim to approximate the colours when they were freshly applied on the walls in 1925.
1.1 State of the art
Several art historians, conservators and researchers from other scientific disciplines have chosen the Flower Chamber and its initial design on tracing paper as objects of study. Perhaps the first one addressing the drawn design by Theo van Doesburg was Jean Leering. Leering was director of the Van Abbemuseum between 1964 and 1973), and was trained as an architect and later became a Professor of Art History at the Technical University of
Eindhoven. In 1968 he organized an exhibition on the oeuvre of Van Doesburg -Theo van Doesburg 1983-1931- in the Van Abbemuseum in 1968.13 In this exhibition he wanted to include a life-size reconstruction of one of the rooms that Van Doesburg had designed. The Flower Chamber was suitable, because of its small size. His experience researching the Flower Chamber in Villa Noailles and the making of the reconstruction was published in: Het Sap van de Grashalm (1983), in which he reveals his experiences in an interview with the Belgian artist Roland van den Berghe. This is one of the most important literary sources when it comes to understanding the condition of the original paint layers of the Flower Chamber in and around 1968.
Leering described the Flower Chamber in detail: he described its condition, took measurements and made drawings of the room. Particularly relevant for the current research is his observation of the colours: he had seen the design on tracing paper for The Flower
Chamber and he mentions that the dark-brown-red of the red plane of the ceiling clearly differed from the vermilion on the design on tracing paper.14 In one case he describes the red of the ceiling as “kraplakrood” (madder or alizarin).15 On one of the sketches Leering made in Hyères, he mentions that the walls have been painted with oil paint and that the: ‘red is similar to red-brown (stone-red), yellow is like Naples yellow, blue is cobalt blue, the greys are pearl
13 Van den Berghe, Het sap van de grashalm…, 17. 14 Van den Berghe, Het sap van de grashalm…, 19. 15 Van den Berghe, Het sap van de grashalm…, 22.
grey and black is ivory black.’16 Also he took small paint samples from the walls;
unfortunately their current location is unknown. Although some of the colours he described are close in appearance, later research has proven that these observations are chemically incorrect. This will be elaborated in part 1.2.
Evert van Straaten, art historian, former director of the Kröller-Müller Museum in Otterlo and expert on Theo van Doesburg, has published many books on Van Doesburg and his work over the last 30 years. From his many publications, three books were most relevant tot this thesis: Theo van Doesburg, Schilder en Architect (1988), Theo van Doesburg, Constructeur van het Nieuwe Leven (1994) and De Stijl 100 jaar inspiratie, De Nieuwe Beelding en de Internationale Kunst 1917-2017 (2016). In the 1988 publication, van Straaten elaborates on the Flower Chamber, devoting a whole page to the small room, in which he explains the composition of the planes, but does not go further into the use of colours in this design.
In publications by Joost Baljeu, artist, architect, teacher and expert on Theo van Doesburg, many of Van Doesburg’s texts were translated to English. In his book Theo van Doesburg (1974) he describes the colours of the Flower Chamber: ‘The design (1924-5) for a small room with a high ceiling, in the colours black, white, grey and red, blue and yellow, was the earliest Elementarist interior to be produced, since it preceded construction of Van
Doesburg’s interior design in the Aubette.17 Baljeu mentions the colours of the room, but no further information is provided about why Van Doesburg choose these colours and what they meant in this design.
Hans Jaffé, art historian, lecturer of Art History on the University of Amsterdam and vice-director of the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, published the book Theo van Doesburg (1983). About the colours of the Flower Chamber he writes: ‘the obliquely applied colour planes, make the room of the little chamber melt into a lively unity, against which the original architectonical form appears hollow and lifeless.’18
16 Van den Berghe, Het sap van de grashalm…, 10. Translation by the author from Dutch: ‘Rood is enigszins
rood bruin. Geel is als Napels geel. Blauw is kobalt blauw. Grijzen zijn parelgrijs. Zwart is ivoorzwart.’
17 Baljeu. Theo van Doesburg, 70.
18 Jaffé. Theo van Doesburg, 114-5. Translation by author from Dutch: ‘[..] de schuins op de wanden
aangebrachte kleurvlakken doen de ruimte van het kleine, vestibule-achtige kamertje tot een levendige eenheid samensmelten, waartegenover de oorspronkelijke architectonische vorm hol en levenloos aandoet.’
Richard Difford published an article in 2007 in which he explains that the diagonal composition the planes of the Flower Chamber might have been based on contemporary theories about geometry.19 Furthermore, he visualized the various stages of overpaint with computer models (see chapter 1.2). The aforementioned art historians argued that the house painter’s error in interpretation may have occurred because Van Doesburg did not know how to correctly draw an architectural interior. Difford, on the contrary, explains how Van
Doesburg was aware of current new methods for drawing architectural spaces and made use of them in the design of the Flower Chamber. Although Difford delved into the process of the making of the design, he only briefly mentions the colours, without an explanation of their specific meaning.20
In the oeuvre catalogue about Van Doesburg edited by Els Hoek (2000), the Flower Chamber’s design and execution are mentioned; however no specific attention was paid to the colours.21
Monique Teunissen-Amagat is a Dutch art historian who lives in Hyères. She is one of the initiators of the recent research into the conservation of the Flower Chamber in Villa Noailles and has contributed to and published many articles on the Flower Chamber and other rooms in this villa. 22
Martine Posthuma de Boer’s research at the RCE from 2014 describes how the appearance of the room has changed over time.23 Her research investigated the alterations the room underwent in the last 90 years, in terms of colour, composition of the planes, additions and removals parts of the interior. This research forms the basis of this thesis and will be discussed in chapter 1.2, supplemented by the additional technical examinations that the author conducted on the room.
None of the research mentioned above has addressed what Van Doesburg meant to express with the specific colours he chose for the Flower Chamber. Van Doesburg is known to have written a lot about his particular interest in colours and colour theories. Mariël Polman, has written about Theo van Doesburg and the colour theories that inspired him.24 This subject
19 Difford, ‘Developed space: Theo van Doesburg and the Chambre de Fleurs.’, 79-98. 20 Difford. ‘Developed space: Theo van Doesburg and the Chambre de Fleurs.’, 80. 21 Hoek, Theo van Doesburg…, 401.
22 See for example: Teunissen Amagat. ‘Nederlands interieur in Frans Kasteel.’ 8-9. 23 Posthuma de boer, Kleurenonderzoek Bloemenkamer Villa Noailles.., 1-132.
will be elaborated on in chapter 2.
Although Van Doesburg himself did not explain the theories or ideas underlie the specific composition of the Flower Chamber, he wrote more generally about his colour theories in the early 1920s. From these writings, the author will attempt to interpret what inspired Van Doesburg to make this composition and choose the specific colours. If the colours that Van Doesburg chose for the design on tracing paper conformed to his colour theories from around the time that he created the design of the Flower Chamber, then their interaction and balance is of utmost importance. Not only did the house painter who executed the interior painting at the Villa Noailles have to translate his composition (which he did incorrectly), but he also had to interpret his colours. Does the house painter’s interpretation of the colours transmit the same meaning that Van Doesburg wanted to express? This question will be discussed in Chapter 3.
1.2 Condition of the Flower Chamber: the design on tracing paper and the execution in France.
The design of the Flower Chamber on tracing paper and the execution in Villa Noailles were made almost a century ago. Over time the original appearance of the objects have changed due to their exposure to many factors that may have a profound influence on the colours, including light, air, dirt, and handling. This section will describe the current condition of both objects. First the design on tracing paper will be described: its condition, execution, and the technical examinations that led to the identification of its original materials. Subsequently, the execution of the Flower Chamber in Villa Noailles and its condition will be discussed. For both objects, the identification of the pigments and the appearance of the colours will be addressed and eventually these will be compared. This comparison may give insight into exactly how the colours of the design were translated by the house painter onto the walls.
1.2.1 Description of the design of the Flower Chamber on tracing paper
The design by Theo van Doesburg (fig. 1.1) was made using graphite pencil, ink and gouache on tracing paper. The support, consisting of two pieces of tracing paper is 55 by 61,5 cm in
size.25 The specific date that the drawing was created remains unclear; the object is generally
dated as 1924-5. The design was probably made before March 1925, because there is a letter written by van Doesburg to Van Eesteren in March 1925 in which he mentions that his design for Hyères had been accepted.26 The design is currently part of the collection of the Van Abbemuseum in Eindhoven, and was donated to the museum by Van Doesburg’s wife, Nelly van Doesburg.27
The design depicts a “flat” map of the walls and the ceiling of the Flower Chamber with a colour composition (fig. 1.1). Theo van Doesburg has labelled the walls on and next to the drawing itself: the ceiling is A, the north wall (across from the door) is B, the west wall is C, the south wall is D and the east wall is E (see fig. 1.2 for an example of the labelling).
It is unclear how Van Doesburg knew about the dimensions of the room in the villa. Evert van Straaten suggests that he probably was given a building plan by Mallet-Stevens, or perhaps obtained only the dimensions of the room.28 This last case seems more likely, since the walls of the composition are too thinly depicted in this design: they are only 4 centimeters wide and as Jean Leering wrote: ‘this is too thin to be able to build in a window.’29 There is another odd feature: on the ceiling, there is a spared-out rectangle near the north wall B and East wall E with the window. The shape of the design of the north wall B was adjusted to fit this rectangle. However, this rectangular form is not (currently) present in the real chamber. Furthermore, Richard Difford (2007) convincingly suggests that to be able to understand the composition of the plan in 3D, the walls should be folded down with the painted surface on the outside.30 Since the tracing paper is translucent, the spectator will be able to see the
composition through the door through the paper from the inside. Seen this way, the planes of the composition continue over the walls and ceiling.31
25 The two pieces of tracing paper were probably joined together with some kind of glue. There are no signs
indicating that the two papers were joined otherwise (for example with stapels). Also, the two pieces of paper are aligned over eachother, this makes glueing them together possible
26 Hoek Theo van Doesburg…, 401. 27 Ibidem.
28 Van Straaten, Theo van Doesburg. Schilder en architect, 177.
29 Van den Berghe, Roland, Het sap van de grashalm…,22. Translated from Dutch by author: ‘’[..] er is een
muurtje getekend van misschien 4 centimeter dik, nog niet halfsteens. Dat was ook al niet realistisch, daar kon nooit een raam in gemaakt worden als het een buitenmuur was.’
30 Difford, ‘Developed space: Theo van Doesburg and the Chambre de Fleurs.’, 90. 31 Ibidem.
As part of the current research, the author had the opportunity to examine the drawing in its frame in daylight and with a flashlight with the naked eye and magnification with a head loupe. It was apparent that the design was first drawn with a graphite pencil. The lines, ones established, were then traced with black ink: probably with a stylus, since the lines are very thin and do not show brush marks (fig.1.3) Subsequently, the paint – in the colours red, yellow, blue and white grey and black – was applied with a brush within the drawn
composition. The brushstrokes are still visible; the paint seems to have be applied with quick strokes. Sometimes the paint does not even reach the contours of the plane it is supposed to fill, and sometimes the paint extends over the edges. The binding medium is likely to be gouache32: an opaque paint that is bound with gum arabic, which can be diluted with water. This type of paint has a higher ratio of pigment to binder than watercolour, and usually contains white fillers such as chalk or barium sulphate; this results in an opaque paint film.33 In this design, Van Doesburg applied the gouache paint quite thickly, most likely in a single layer.
Many factors may have contributed to the current fragile condition of the painted design: the delicate nature of the paper support -especially the fact that it was folded, the thickness of the gouache paint, and its probable exposure to unstable environments- as it was transported by mail to France. The tracing paper, which would originally have been whitish and translucent, has yellowed severely (fig. 1.4). It is stained, torn on the edges and shows folding marks. The paint layer itself has also been affected. There are some losses, due to poor adhesion between the paint and the support and the tension between the paper and the paint film, which occur on the parts where the paper has been folded.
In 2015, the design was examined with X-ray Fluorescence Spectometry (XRF) by Luc Megens, researcher at the RCE in Amsterdam.34 Using this non-invasive technique, elements in the paint were detected, leading to the identification of specific pigments. The white paint contains lead white, the grey paint contains lead white mixed with a black carbon-containing
32 RCE, Onderzoeksrapport: Ontwerptekening voor het bloemenkamertje Villa Noailles in Hyères: Theo van Doesburg.., 4. The medium has been mentioned: likely an opaque water paint. Furthermore, the website of the Van Abbemuseum and the oeuvre catalogue by Hoek (2000) mention the medium ‘gouache’.
33 University of Delaware,. ‘Materials Information and technical resource for artists – paint mediums and
additives.’,7.
34 RCE, Onderzoeksrapport: Ontwerptekening voor het bloemenkamertje Villa Noailles in Hyères: Theo van Doesburg, 1924/25…, 3.
pigment. The yellow contains lead chromate yellow with barium sulphate. The red paint contains vermilion and barium sulphate. The blue contains ultramarine and lead white.35 Van Doesburg seems to have used different shades of grey, but some are so close in colour that it is difficult to determine if they were meant to have the same colour. It is, for instance, difficult to determine if the light grey colour on the ceiling was supposed to go over into the light grey planes on the north wall and west wall.
Although these results give valuable information about the composition of the different colours of paint and might provide a mental image of the used colours, this does not provide an actual image of what the colours currently look like. Therefore, the colours of the design have been mapped with an NCS colour index (fan) by the author. By comparing the colours of the design can be compared to the standardized colours of this fan, the appearance of the colours can be coded, and compared. The results of this examination are discussed in
Appendix I. This comparison does not take into account the possible visual effects of aging on the paper and paints of the design. The yellowing of the paper might have affected the
appearance of the colours and the pigments bound in gouache might also have altered.36 For example lead chromate yellow is known to darken due to lighting conditions and depends on the chemical composition of the pigments.37 How this affects the possible interpretation of the meaning of the colours will be discussed in Chapter 3. Comparison of the colours to those of the paint colours in the Flower Chamber in France will be discussed later in this chapter.
The direction of the written text, the inscription and the signature and additional information on the paint of the design, shows that the design was first to be seen with the paper in a rhombus shape, with the door at the bottom of the rhombus. An arrow, and the words ‘haut’ and ‘bas’ on the back indicate that the design should be turned in a way that the paper of the design becomes a rectangle and the texts must be read obliquely. 38 In this
orientation, the additional text and his signature would be in in the right lower right corner, in which case the door must be also situated in the lower right corner. Currently, the design is framed with the door and the signature in the lower left corner. This (potentially) means that
35 RCE, Onderzoeksrapport: Ontwerptekening voor het bloemenkamertje Villa Noailles in Hyères: Theo van Doesburg, 1924/25…, 3.
36 More research can be conducted to discover the precise nature of degraded colours and if these are indeed
present.
37 Monico et all., Degredation process of lead chromate by Vincent van Gogh…, 10804-10811. 38 Hoek, Theo van Doesburg…, 401.
the design is in the wrong position in the current frame, where the door and text are present in the lower left corner.39
39 The author has contacted Louis Baltussen ‘Hoofd Behoud en Beheer’ of the Van Abbemuseum about this
,
Figure 1.1. Theo van Doesburg. Colour design for Flower Chamber. 1924-1925. Gouache, pencil and ink on transparent tracing paper. 55 cm x 61,5 cm. Photo: Eindhoven, Van Abbemuseum.
Figure 1.2. Theo van Doesburg. Colour design for Flower Chamber. 1924-1925. Gouache, pencil and ink on transparent tracing paper, close-up of labels A and D. 55 cm x 61,5 cm. Photo: Eindhoven, Van Abbemuseum.
Fig. 1.3. Theo van Doesburg. Colour design for Flower Chamber. 1924-1925. Gouache, pencil and ink on transparent tracing paper, detail of the middle of the design showing various materials and application methods. 55 cm x 61,5 cm. Collection of Van Abbemuseum, Eindhoven. Photo: author, 2017.
Fig. 1.4. Theo van Doesburg. Colour design for Flower Chamber. 1924-1925. Gouache, pencil and ink on transparent tracing paper, detail of the left upper corner. 55 cm x 61,5 cm. Collection of Van Abbemuseum, Eindhoven. Photo: author, 2017.
1.2.2 Description of the painted interior of the Flower Chamber in Hyères
Written sources suggest that the design Van Doesburg sent to Hyères in 1925 must have been executed by a house painter between March and December 1925.40 The room is situated on the ground floor of the building, near the main entrance (Figures 1.5 and 1.6 show its current appearance). Its dimensions are 1 meter wide by 1,5 meter deep and 2,25 meter high. When one enters the room one immediately notices the various colour planes spread over the walls and ceiling. The largest colour area is the black plane behind the sink. Some black, grey and white planes extend from one wall to the other. The bright colours are distributed in smaller planes. The red plane on the ceiling, the two yellow planes on the north wall and west wall and the blue plane on the south wall are all painted on another wall or on the ceiling. The
experience of the room is immersive, with all of the sides covered except the floor; even the small strips around the door have been painted.
Martine Posthuma de Boer led the research of extensice technical examinations on the Flower Chamber in 2014. Her research revealed that the original paint layers were probably applied by a local house painter under the supervision of Robert Mallet-Stevens and a local architect, Leon David.41 In order to understand the current condition of the Flower Chamber, she took cross-sections, which were analysed using SEM-EDX and Raman-spectroscopy to identify the pigments.42 Also, stratigraphies (“colour ladders”) were made in situ to reveal the
buildup of (original) paint layers in discrete steps.43 Furthermore, the binding media of the
different paint layers were analysed using GC-MS.44 The binding medium for the paint layers
was raw linseed oil with colophony (rosin), and perhaps a little starch was added. Most of the
40 As mentioned earlier, Van Doesburg wrote to van Eesteren in March 1925 that his design for the Flower Chamber was accepted in France and in December 1925 Van Doesburg received a letter from the viscount that he was very pleased with the execution of the design.
41Posthuma de Boer. Kleurenonderzoek Bloemenkamer Villa Noailles: Interieurschildering naar ontwerp van Theo van Doesburg. Amsterdam: 2014.
42 The analysis with SEM-EDX has been done by Luc Megens, researcher at the Dutch Agency of Cultural
Heritage (RCE). Raman-spectroscopy was conducted by Suzan de Groot,
43 In Appendix II most of the stratigraphies that were conducted during Posthuma de Boer’s research were
mapped.
44 Henk van Keulen conducted GCMS analyses and he discussed the results with Posthuma De Boer and Mariël
colours were probably built up in two paint layers.45 The pigments that were used will be
discussed in detail in part 1.3.
The colours on the wall that are currently visible are not the original colours applied by the house painter. Posthuma de Boer discovered that the Flower Chamber had been
overpainted at least twice, in 1989 and in 2000; however, she concluded that some parts of the original paint layers are still present on the walls underneath these interventions. At least a third of the original paint layers on the wall is missing or in poor condition.46
The main focus of this thesis is the 1925 execution of the paint layers from the interior of the Flower Chamber. Prior to Posthuma de Boer’s research, written documentation on the original 1925 appearance was limited to Jean leering’s description of the room. When he entered the villa in 1968, he noticed that the room was in poor condition: paint was flaking off the walls. Charles de Noailles later wrote him a letter in which he said that only a few years after 1925, a major leak had damaged the room.47
It is unclear whether the room was (partly) painted over for a third time before World War II, either to cover up the damages of the leak or to “correct” or refresh the colours.48 Photographs taken in 1981 by Gerard Monnier – an architectural historian and Professor Emeritus at Université Panthéon-Sorbonne – show the condition of parts of the room before it was renovated in 1989 (fig 1.7 and 1.8).49 They were published in an article on the Flower Chamber in 1990.50 The paint layers are in a fragile condition: the photographs from 1981 show that the paint layers have flaked, resulting in large-scale losses.
Due to the poor condition of the chamber, which was not able to receive visitors, the room was completely renovated in 1989 before the reopening of Villa Noailles as a cultural centre for the arts in 1990. Some significant alterations that happened as part of this campaign are apparent from the photographs: the whole room was overpainted, two taps were added to the sink, the bar to the left of the sink was removed, and the pipes in the corner and to the right of the window were removed. What the photographs do not immediately reveal is that in this
45 Posthuma de Boer. Kleurenonderzoek Bloemenkamer Villa Noailles…, 29. 46 Posthuma de Boer. Kleurenonderzoek Bloemenkamer Villa Noaille…, 40. 47 Van Straaten. Theo van Doesburg. Schilder en architect, 177.
48 Posthuma de Boer. Kleurenonderzoek Bloemenkamer Villa Noailles…,34
49 These photos were published in: Monnier. ‘La salle des fleurs. De la villa de Noailles a Hyères.’, 140-145. 50 Monnier. ‘La salle des fleurs. De la villa de Noailles a Hyères.’, 140-145.
process, the ceiling was replaced and lowered by 5 to 10 centimetres.51 To be able to fit the
composition onto the new format of the walls, the composition was overpainted with the planes also lowered by 5 to 10 centimetres.52 This meant that the angles of the lines and the way that certain colour planes intersected with each other were also compromised. The 1989 overpainting was executed using a glossy, synthetic paint. Around the year 2000 the white and the black planes were overpainted again with a matte wall paint.53
Once Jan Leering had returned to the Netherlands from his trip to France in 1968, he compared his observations to the drawing in the Van Abbemuseum, and made a shocking discovery: the composition of the design that had been sent by Van Doesburg to Charles de Noailles had been incorrectly executed by the house painter in 1925: the composition on the walls had been flipped horizontally as compared to the original design by Van Doesburg. However, the ceiling had been executed in a correct manner, according to Van Doesburg’s drawing.54
For a retrospective exhibition of Van Doesburg’s works at the Van Abbemuseum (mentioned in part 1.1). Jean Leering made a life-sized reconstruction of the Flower Chamber as Van Doesburg would have intended it (Fig 1.9). In 2007 Richard Difford published a study in which he researched the wrongly-interpreted execution from 1925, and the subsequent changes in 1989. Difford created computer models which show the three stages of
compositional changes: (a) as it was executed in 1925, (b) with the replaced reversed ceiling in 1989 (renovated interior), and (c) the design as it was originally intended (fig 1.10).55 The
following section will refer to this model, when the different stages of the painted interior of the Flower Chamber are discussed.
51 Posthuma de Boer. Kleurenonderzoek Bloemenkamer Villa Noailles…, 40. 52 Ibidem.
53 Posthuma de Boer. Kleurenonderzoek Bloemenkamer Villa Noailles…, 28.
54 Van den Berghe, Het sap van de grashalm..,20. Translated from Dutch by author: ‘Alle wanden werden
spiegelverkeerd uitgevoerd.’
Figure 1.5 and figure 1.6. Theo van Doesburg. Flower Chamber, North wall and south walls, overpainted in 1989 and 2000. 1925. Several layers of paint on a stucco support. 100x 150 x2 25. Photo: Martine Posthuma De Boer, 2014.
Figure 1.7 and 1.8. Theo van Doesburg. Flower Chamber (1925), north wall and south walls, overpainted in 1989 and 2000. Several layers of paint on a stucco support, 100x 150 x2 25. In: Monnier, ‘La salle des fleurs. De la villa de Noailles a Hyères’,144.
Figure 1.9. Theo van Doesburg. Flower Chamber, reconstruction initiated by Jean Leering. 1968. Painted wood. Photo: Eindhoven, Van Abbemuseum.
Figure 1.10. Digital reconstruction of the Flower Chamber in 1925, in 1989, and the way it was intended. 2007. From left to right: a, b and c In: Difford. ‘Developed space: Theo van Doesburg and the Chambre de Fleurs’, 89.
1.2.3 Summary of similarities and differences between Van Doesburg’s drawn design, and the different stages of the painted interior in Villa Noailles
The different phases of the design and Van Doesburg’s intended execution have been
discussed and illustrated by Richard Difford (see figure 1.10). Figure a shows the execution as it was built in 1925. The walls are mirrored, but the ceiling is executed as it was intended. Figure b shows the 1989 execution, the ceiling and the walls are all mirrored compared to the original intended composition. Figure c shows the room as it was intended. Figure c is similar to Jean Leering’s reconstruction of the Flower Chamber from 1968.
1925 appearance of the painted interior
In the first phase (1925), the paint layers were applied on a creamy coloured chalk ground with a linseed oil binder. Subsequently layers of a white paint were applied on the wall,
ranging from one to three layers, depending on which wall.56 The coloured planes - yellow and blue- were applied in two stages. A detailed description of the research into the paint layers will be given in part 1.2.4. The ceiling was removed in 1989, therefore it remains unclear if the red plane was also built up in two stages. The exact original colour of the red plane is unclear, but according to Leering’s description and the photo’s by Monnier it must have appeared as a dark red. The texture of the paint film was smooth with a light gloss.57
These colours of the painted interior differ from the design on tracing paper in several aspects. As apparent in Monnier’s pictures, the frame of the door was executed in a grey paint, instead of the composition being continued. Also the dark grey plane on the west wall has been executed in black. Subsequently, the red plane seems to be darker than the red plane on the design on tracing paper. In addition, the rest of the planes seems to be executed in quite similar colours compared to the colours on the design on tracing paper. The house painter that executed the painting probably had a lack of the understanding of the importance of the specific colours.
The composition of the planes on the walls is mirrored compared to the design on tracing paper.58 Although this influences the appearance of the room, it must be said that the it seems that house painter tried to translate the composition and the colours in a considerate manner. Van Doesburg’s design did leave room for interpretation, since many aspects of the design do not correspond to the appearance of the room, for instance the frames around the
56 Posthuma de boer, Kleurenonderzoek Bloemenkamer Villa Noailles.., 28. 57 Ibidem.
door and window and the spared square at the North wall. The composition seems to have been orthogonally applied, which was also important for Van Doesburg’s intention of the composition, as discussed by Richard Difford.59
1989 appearance of the painted interior
As mentioned above, the Flower Chamber was overpainted in 1989 as part of a renovation of Villa Noailles. Several main differences in colour are noticable when the 1989 composition is compared to the design on tracing paper: the dark grey plane on the west wall was executed in black, the light grey plane on the west wall seems to be executed in a grey that is much whiter, the light grey plane of the north wall is now executed in dark grey and the light grey plane on the ceiling has been substituted by a dark grey plane. The red tint on the new ceiling seems, however, more similar to the vermilion red of the design on tracing paper.
Because the room was overpainted with a similar composition in 1989, there are several differences between the colours of the planes from 1925 and 1989. One big change is the mirrored composition of the ceiling, and differences between the two reds on the ceiling. The red in Monnier’s picture and Leering’s description is a dark red, but the new red plane appears bright red. Furthermore, the light grey plane of the removed ceiling of 1925 has been replaced by a dark grey plane on the 1989 ceiling. The renovated ceiling has been lowered with approximately 5 to 10 centimetres, therefore the composition of the planes has also been lowered by 5 to 10 centimetres.60 Furthermore the composition has not been applied in straight
orthogonal angles. Another change in the composition is that the light grey plane on the North wall in Monniers photo’s (1981) was overpainted in 1989 with a dark grey paint. A subsequent feature that stands out is the fact that in Monnier’s photos the door –and windowframes seem to be grey rather than white. Furthermore, the texture of the paint differs. Whereas the 1925 composition was applied in an oil paint with a light gloss, the 1989 paint layers are applied in a synthetic, very glossy paint.
2000 appearance (current appearance)
Around the year 2000 the black and white planes were overpainted with a matte paint.61 The
59 Ibidem.
60 Posthuma de boer, Kleurenonderzoek Bloemenkamer Villa Noailles.., 28. 61 Ibidem.
room currently provides a compromised experience to anyone who enters it, since its current appearance does not seem to reflect the original composition or colours of Van Doesburg’s design on tracing paper, nor the original intention of the house painter who executed it.
Furthermore, the condition of the interior has affected the viewer’s experience. The walls have an uneven gloss, and the composition has been altered, which results in a distorted experience. Therefore, this research will go further into the use of the colours in the design and the use of the colours in the first execution of the paint layers in the villa.
1.2.4 2017 research into the colours of the original paint layers of the painted interior in Hyères
Matching the layers in the cross-sections to the layers in the stratigraphies using Dino-Lite microscopy
Posthuma de Boer’s elaborate work – identifying the pigments and exposing the layers beneath the surface in stratigraphies – has already provided a significant amount of
information about the original materials, and given some clues about the original appearance of the chamber. In the current research, an attempt has been made to bring the information from the cross-sections and the stratigraphies together. Posthuma de Boer’s concluded that most of the colours of the finishing layers - for example the blue and yellow planes - had most likely been applied in one two, or three discrete layers.62 The multi-layered structure was also
visible in cross-sections (see for a cross-section fig. 1.11 and the matching stratigraphy layer fig. 1.12). The resulting colour would presumably have been created by the visual interaction of these layers together, and may have been done to achieve a specific tone of the colours. Even though the upper one seemed to be rather opaque in most cases, the additional effect of lower layers in this multi-layered system has been demonstrated in reconstructions which will be described in part 1.3. What remained unclear in Posthuma de Boer’s research is which layer that had been revealed within the stratigraphy “ladder” matched which layer in the cross-section. The 2017 research in the Flower Chamber, therefore aimed to match the layers from the cross-sections to the corresponding layers revealed in the stratigraphy layers that were made by Posthuma de Boer in 2014. Microphotographs of these exposed areas of original
colour were made with a Dino-Lite handheld microscope. The results are discussed in Appendix II.
Coding the colours with a NCS and Sikkens colour fan
As part of the current research, colours of the two original layers have been coded with an NCS and Sikkens colour fan (Appendix III). This provided the opportunity to compare the colours of the Flower Chamber to the colours of the Flower Chamber’s design, since the colours of the Flower Chamber’s design were coded with the same colour cards (Appendix I). One has to bear in mind that both the colours of the Flower Chamber and its initial gouache design may both have degraded. The conclusion we can draw so far from a comparison of the codes of both designs, is that the colours corresponding to the codes are very different from one another for the same colour planes. It can be suggested that the colours of both objects may have had a different appearance. What this means for the meaning of the design will be discussed in Chapter 3.
Colour cards that match the current colours of the original (1925) paint layers
Once the original paint layers that were exposed in the stratigraphies had been photographed with the Dino-Lite microscope-camera and had been coded with the colour codes from Sikkens and NCS, it was possible to make an approximation of what the original colours look like now. Colour cards were made using acrylic paints on paper support of 10 x 15 cm to reconstruct the current colours of the original 1925 paint layers on a larger scale (see figure 1.13). These colour cards would later be used, together with the results of Martine’s research to make reconstructions of how the colours might have appeared when they were freshly applied to the wall in 1925, assuming that the currently revealed original colours have discoloured (section 1.3). Acrylic Lascaux pre-mixed bottles of paints paints were used to make the colour cards that approximate the current colours of the uppermost paint layers of the 1925 paint layers. In colour planes where two of the original final paint layers had been revealed in the stratigraphy, two matching colour cards were made: one for each layer. In conclusion, the colour cards revealed that: the first and second paint layer of the white and grey colour planes currently have different values and hues. Since this is not visible in the photos from Gérard Monnier, nor described by Jean Leering, this might be an indication of
that the colours have deteriorated. Furthermore, the yellow plane had to be mixed with umber (brown) to achieve a matching colour; this might indicate that the paint has darkened. In Appendix III the results of the colour cards are elaborately discussed.
Figure 1.11 and 1.12. Cross-section VN23 and matching Stratigraphy nr.14, from the white big plane on the east wall from Martine Posthima de Boer’s research (2014). From the research conducted in 2017, it could be concluded that layer 2 of the stratigraphy matches layer 4 of the cross-section, the layer between layer 1 and 2 from the stratigraphy matches layer 2 and 3 from the cross-section, and layer 1 from the stratigraphy matches layer 1 of the cross-section. Photos: Martine Posthuma de Boer, 2014.
Figure 1.13. Mariël Polman and Lisanne van den Heuvel while mixing colours to reconstruct the first two original layers of the paint layers of the Flower Chamber with acrylic paints. In: Villa Noailles, Hyeres. Photo: Abbie Vandivere, 2017.
1.3 Colour test panels that aim to reconstruct the original colours of the painted interior in Hyères from 1925
The Flower Chamber’s complex layer build-up was revealed through: the stratigraphies, the examination of layer buildup in the cross-sections, the identification of the pigments and binding media within Posthuma de Boer’s research (2014), and results from the 2017 research: the Dino-Lite photos, the colour codes and the reconstructed colour cards.
What these results could not provide is a visual image of what the colours of the chamber might have looked like when it was first painted in 1925. The colour cards that were made in situ (Appendix III) reconstructed the appearance of the colours after approximately 90 years, as revealed below many campaigns of overpaint. Due to the use of specific pigments, binding media and the conservation history of the room, it can be assumed that the pigments and binding media from the 1925 painted interior of the Flower Chamber have altered: they degraded over the years. Therefore, colour reconstructions on panel have been made, in which the colours from the paint layers of the painted interior of the Flower Chamber in 1925 were approximated.
A mock-up of the 1925 appearance of the Flower Chamber is currently being made under the supervision of Mariël Polman. The aim of this project is to come as close to the appearance of the Flower Chamber in 1925 as possible, as valuable information for decision making regarding a future conservation of the chamber. The author of this thesis and Polman had already started with this project, but due to complications, described in Appendix IV, this project had to be discontinued within the scope of this thesis. However, this research did provide valuable information and test panels, which made it possible to continue with tests which reveal an approximation of the 1925 colours of the Flower Chamber.
There are variables that make it difficult to know what the colours from 1925 exactly looked like, some of these are listed in the Appendix V. Although many factors may influence the appearance of the colours, it seemed within the scope of this thesis the most effective way to visualise the possible appearance of the colours of the painted interior of the Flower
Chamber from 1925. The reconstructions have been made with modern equivalents of the pigments and a binding medium similar to the ones described in Posthuma de Boer’s research (2014). They were applied with a flat brush on panels primed with a chalk and rabbit skin glue
ground with extra coating of rabbit skin glue on top. The aim of the colour reconstructions was, firstly, to gain a visual insight impression of how bright the freshly applied colours could look and to compare these to the colour cards made in France. Another goal was to gain insight into the different properties of the pigments, with a mixture of raw linseed oil,
turpentine and siccative as a binding medium. Furthermore, the visual effect is of applying two paint layers of a different colour on top of each other was researched.
Several conclusions can be drawn that are relevant for this research: that all the colours from the reconstructions look brighter in hue than the colour cards made in France (see figure 1.14 and 1.15 for an example). Furthermore, the application of two layers of the same colour, but with a different hue on top of each other has a visual effect on the final appearance (see figure 1.16-1.18 for the example). The lower layer shines through the layer on top.
Secondly, a possible solution for the mock-up has been found to approximate the original red colour of the ceiling: to use a combination of pigments similar to the ones present in the paint layer buildup of one of Van Doesburg’s other architectural projects: The Aubette and using a similar additional pigments as have been found in the yellow and blue planes of The Flower Chamber. One of the paint layers consisted of a dark red, similar to Jean Leering’s descriptionof the Flower Chamber and the photo taken by Gérard Monnier. Van Doesburg was actually present himself when these paint layers were executed in the Aubette63,therefore we might assume that he approved of this red colour.
Thirdly, the pigments all appeared to have different properties in the same binding medium. For example, the carbon black became quite powdery and dried up with a gloss in the middle and a matte appearance on the outside (see figure 1.19). In future, before these
pigments are applied to the mock-up, tests have to be made in which for each pigment a matching binding medium has to be found. 64
Chapter 3 will discuss how these reconstructions have had an influence on the interpretation of the meaning of the colours.
63 Polman, 2013.
64 This requires experimenting with different proportions of raw linseed oil, siccative and turpentine. Also other
Figure 1.14 and 1.15. The first picture shows a colour card made in situ while in France. The second picture shows a colour reconstruction made on panel back in the Netherlands with historically appropriate materials. It is remarkable that the colour card made in France seems much darker in value and less bright in hue than the colour reconstruction. Photo: author, 2017.
Figure 1.16-18. The photo of the reconstruction in the middle shows both layers on top of each other. The lower layer shines though the layer on top. Photo: author, 2017.
Figure 1.19. The reconstruction of the with the pigment ‘charcoal black’ dried with a glossy center with a transition to a matte appearance towards the edges of the panel. Photo: Author, 2017.
Chapter 2: theories that influenced Van Doesburg’s design for the Flower Chamber: ‘Elementarism’ and colour theories
This chapter describes van Doesburg’s theory of ‘Elementarism’, wherein he introduces his theory on colour: Beeldende constructie-leer. It will also describe other colour theories that may have influenced Van Doesburg and his design for the Flower Chamber.
2.1 ‘Elementarism’
From 1916 onwards, Van Doesburg became interested in designing a complete environment. In his theory on ‘Elementarism’ (1926), he described that the spectator should be immersed, their senses and mind activated and affected by the space.65 The artist-painter should play the pivotal role in shaping this environment, not the architect.66
Between 1926 and 1927, Van Doesburg wrote three articles that he published in De Stijl, in which he explained his ideas on ‘Elementarism’: ‘Schilderkunst: van Kompositie tot contra-kompositie’ (1926), and ‘Schilderkunst en plastiek. Over Contra-Compositie en contra-Plastiek’ (1926), ‘Schilderkunst en plastiek. Elementarisme (Manifest fragment)’ (between December 1926 and April 1927). In ‘Elementarism’ colour plays a pivotal role. Several articles he wrote in 1924, around the time he designed the Flower Chamber, demonstrate that many of the ideas that he exposed in his theory on ‘Elementarism’, had already been put into practice before 1926. The Flower Chamber was Van Doesburg’s first attempt to bring his concept of ‘Elementarism’ into practice. 67
2.2 Van Doesburg’s theory of ‘Elementarism’ (1927)
In 1917, Piet Mondrian – along with Theo Van Doesburg and Bart van der Leck – formulated a theory of ‘Neo-plasticism’, in which they envisioned a radical re-innovation of art, society and culture. Some tenets of Neo-plasticism are: ‘reaching for a new equilibrium between spirit and nature, looking for harmony by balancing contrasts, establishing an ordering between art and life, which reflects the equilibrium of the cosmos and deciding what the new basic elements should be – for society as a whole, but foremost for art -with which this new vision
65 Van Doesburg. ‘Schilderkunst en plastiek. Over contra-compositie en contra plastiek...’,38. 66 Van Straaten, Theo van Doesburg. Schilder en Architect, 8-9.
on the world could be constructed.’68 Those basic elements included black, white and grey, the
primary colours, squared planes or cubical volumes, and vertical lines (see for example: fig. 2.1).69
Van Doesburg used Neo-plastic ideas and acknowledged Neo-plasticism as a re-innovation of culture; however, he believed that the concept should keep renewing itself, rather than bring a strictly defined framework. Between 1916 and the beginning of the 1920s, he created many Neo-plastic inspired artworks (see for example fig. 2.2). Van Doesburg re-invented Neo-plasticism into a new concept: ‘Elementarism’. In the magazine De Stijl, VII, 1926-1927 he wrote: ‘Elementarism was born partly as a reaction to an overly dogmatic and and shortsightened application of Neo-plasticism, and partly as a consequence thereof and eventually and mainly it was a strict correction of neo-plastic ideas.’70
68 Anthonissen et all. De Stijl- 100 jaar inspiratie…, 349. 69 Ibidem.
70 Anthonissen et all.. De Stijl- 100 jaar inspiratie…, 65. Translation from Dutch by author: ‘Het Elementarisme
is geboren, deels uit reactie op een al te dogmatische en dikwijls kortzichtige toepassing van het Neo-plasticisme, deels als consequentie daarvan en tenslotte en voornamelijk uit een strenge correctie der neo-plastische [sic] ideeen.’
Fig. 2.1. Piet Mondriaan. Composition with big red plane, yellow, black grey and blue. 1921. Oil on canvas. 59,5 cm x 59,5 cm. Photo: The Hague, Gemeentemuseum (0333329).
Fig. 2.2 Theo van Doesburg. Composition XX. 1920. Oil on canvas. 92 cm x 71 cm. Photo: Madrid, Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza (528 (1979.4)).
Van Doesburg’s ‘Elementarism’ differs from the neo-plastic ideas on a few points. Instead of a static equilibrium, he wanted to express a dynamic equilibrium by adding sharp contrasts, based on the polemic relation between spirit and nature. To Van Doesburg, spirit was superior to nature:
We are convinced, that a it is characteristic of <<higher civilisation>>, when [..] organic functions are converted into mechanical [ones] and we despise approximately everyone, that functions in a complete natural, organic way. This disdain is mainly based on being one with the organic nature, what we miss in the <<natural>> human is: opposition, contrast, contest, resistance, with one word – spirit.71
Elementarism opposes the natural structure and creates tension between proportions. Whereas former artistic movements, from Classicism to Cubism, emphasized the composition towards the center, Neo-plasticism abolishes the centre and the composition develops the other way around. The composition extends from the middle to the corners to seemingly reach outside the canvas. In Mondrian’s Composition with grid 6 (fig. 2.3) the composition seems to extend beyond the boundaries of the painting. This is emphasized by the planes on the side that are partly ‘cut off’ by the rhombus-shaped canvas. ‘Elementarism’ adds an oblique dimension to this peripheral composition.72
Horizontal and vertical arrangement of space can lead to a repeated physical movement, which can become mechanical and static. The spirit opposes this natural
mechanical and needs the sharpest opposite of nature and physical structure. In paintings, this oblique dimension is represented by the diagonal. In addition, the fourth dimension plays an important role in Elementarism:
71 Van Doesburg. ‘Schilderkunst. Van Kompositie tot contra-kompositie’, 24. Translation by author from Dutch:
Wij zijn er van overtuigd, dat het een kenmerk van « hoogere beschaving » is, wanneer deze organische functies zich in mechanische hebben omgezet en wij verachten al min of meer degenen, die in volledige natuurlijkheid, organisch functioneeren. Deze verachting grondt zich voornamelijk op dit volkomen één zijn met de organische natuur, wat wij in den « natuurlijken » mensch missen is: oppositie, contrast, verzet, strijd, met een woord — geest.
72 Van Doesburg. ‘Schilderkunst en plastiek. Over contra-compositie and contra plastiek (Elementarisme
Elementarism [..] sees the possibility of an expression in four dimensions, in the area of the space of time.73
The composition of a Neo-plastic composition in an architectural space was meant to be viewed in one glance by the spectator, Van Doesburg called this a ‘painting in three
dimensions.’74 A late example (1936) is Bart van der Leck’s Colour scheme for an interior for Huis Liebert in Hilversum (fig. 2.4). In practice, this is difficult to achieve, since it is hardly possible to view all of the walls, ceiling and floor at once. Space and time are united by the division of colour planes on the available planes of the room.75 In his theory of
‘Elementarism’, Van Doesburg aimed for the movement of the spectator through the room, interactively and deliberately guided by the design of the space: this he called the fourth dimension.76
73 Van Doesburg. ‘Schilderkunst en plastiek. Elementarisme (Manifest-fragment)’, 82. Translation by author
from Dutch: Zoo als het Elementarisme poogt om de beide factoren, statiek en dynamiek (stilstand en beweging) in evenwichtig rapport te brengen, zoo bestreeft het Elementarisme evenzeer, deze twee elementaire factoren : Tijd en Ruimte in een nieuwe dimensie samen te vatten. Is de uitdrukkingsmogelijkheid van het Neo-Plasticisme beperkt tot 2 afmetingen (het vlak), het Elementarisme daarentegen ziet de mogelijkheid eener beelding in 4 afmetingen, in het gebied der tijdruimte, in.
74 Anthonissen et all., De Stijl- 100 jaar inspiratie…, 195. 75 Ibidem.
