Piet Mondrian: A Life

The publication of Piet Mondrian: a Life gives us a radically different picture of world-famous painter and co-founder of De Stijl, Piet Mondrian. Gone is the impression of a lonely, isolated artist. On the contrary: Mondrian in fact associated with many members of the international avant-garde, including Alexander Calder, Marcel Duchamp, Barbara Hepworth and Ben Nicholson. And in his thirst for innovation, he was repeatedly drawn to the places where it was happening: Paris in the 1920s and the bustling metropolis that was 1940s New York.

The biography is the magnum opus of Mondrian expert Hans Janssen, who died recently. Hans Janssen (1954-2021), former curator at Kunstmuseum Den Haag, based Piet Mondrian: a Life on his own research and studies by leading academics, and on hitherto unrevealed letters, notebooks and archive material. Kunstmuseum Den Haag, which houses the world’s largest collection of work by Mondrian, and publisher Ridinghouse of London, are proud to present this first biography of the artist in English. Entitled Piet Mondrian: a Life, it explores his life and work, presenting a comprehensive account of the man and his art.

The book is testament to his deep fascination with and admiration for Mondrian’s work. Hans Janssen approaches this extraordinary painter from the perspective of his work, rather than any complex theory. As a result, he has managed more than any other writer before him to bring Mondrian to life.

Mondrian: a Life is published by Ridinghouse in collaboration with Kunstmuseum Den Haag.
424 pp
Paperback, 234 x 156 mm
Price: € 40.00 

The Dutch press on Janssen’s biography:

‘[Janssen’s] biography of Piet Mondrian […] differs from all previous biographies of Mondrian (1872-1944) thanks to the author’s deep identification with the painter at work. We hear Mondrian think, look, seek, and finally apply his brush to the canvas.’  Trouw, Dutch daily newspaper

‘The lovely thing about this new biography is that Janssen does not portray Mondrian as some eccentric genius, but as a real flesh and blood person. We discover that he was not good with money, for example, and was quite vain.’ De Telegraaf, Dutch Daily newspaper