Jacobus Oud

Facade of the Cafe De Unie

    The Simultaneous Counter-Composition designed by Theo van Doesburg in 1929 is an oil on canvas painting found in the Museum of Modern Art in New York. He uses the three primary colors, white and black and executes the De Stijl movement principles. What I found interesting about this piece is that instead of every element executed at a straight, flat 90-degree angle, the shapes appeared skewed and scattered throughout the composition. This repetition of the squares creates movement within the piece and gives the illusion that the shapes are falling off the page. Repeating the square elements throughout the page definitely help create interest, movement and unity. Although at first glance it may not seem balanced, but if you look at this piece closely, despite the skewed shapes and placement, there is visual hierarchy because there is not a single heavy element that bothers the eye. The thick black lines that come in from the left yellow square and into the red and blue squares help organize these shapes because of the black square in the top right corner. The relationship of the black lines and the square cutting into these colored squares create a unified whole and also create harmony with each element. I also think that these lines help create a visually pleasing piece because the yellow and the red is a lot lighter than the black and blue colors, therefore the black rule that comes into these elements help to ease the tension of these contrasting colors, and also balance the color of the entire artwork.