Theo Van Doesburg

    The founder and leader of this movement was Theo van Doesburg. He was also a Dutch painter, decorator, poet, art theorist, and one of the most daring and influential artists 

of the avant garde. Theo van Doesburg promoted this movement across Europe and moved to Weimar in 1922 

to make an impression on Walter Gropius, the Bauhaus principal to spread the influence. Other founders of this movement included Piet Mondrian, Georges Vantongerloo, Jacobus Johannes Pieter Oud, and Gerrit Rietveld. With their prescribed visual vocabulary, De Stijl artists sought an expression of the mathematical structure of the universe and the universal harmony of nature. 

Book Cover

    This 1925 cover by Theo Van Doesburg collaborated with Hungarian artist Laszlo Moholy-Nagy for the farmer's book Grundbegriffe der neun gestaltenden (Principles of Modern Design) is a definite example of the De Stijl movement. In this piece, the designer is well aware of how to organize space with the use of color and lines. The three primary colors, red, blue and yellow are used effectively to organize the surrounding elements and represents De Stijl principles. Line is also used seen as the thick black bars on the cover to separate the three primary colors and the white space, as well as to emphasize the name of the book and the names of the artists. The effective use of these heavy black lines combined with the knock out white typography surrounded by geometric, red, blue, yellow and white squares create unity and visual hierarchy. This book cover is also successful in keeping the audience occupied. Although it is a simple design, the use of these different types of elements seen on the cover (color, line, hierarchy, unity) helps move the audience's eye around the entire piece. The eye travels from left to right, then down to left again, and creates this circle, which engages the audience into the cover. It is very visually pleasing to look at because everything is organized so effectively. No element on this composition is heavy or displeasing to the eye, which becomes extremely important when creating a design. 

Simultaneous Counter Composition

    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. 

Exhibition Poster 1925

    Theo van Doesburg also designed an exhibition poster in 1925 for The Little Review Gallery in New York. This was composed out of pencil, gouache, and Indian ink on transparent paper. He does an interesting and intriguing layout with different shapes and incorporating the De Stijl colors, red, yellow, blue, white and black. He has his overall canvas skewed, with the shapes being rectilinear shapes, but bled off the page to create this effect. Theo van Doesburg definitely accomplishes and executes successful visual hierarchy because of this compelling layout and how the audience is kept occupied and interested in this poster. The typography on this poster is handwritten and displays movement with some of the text going from top left to bottom right, and some of the text going from the bottom left to the top right. It almost looks like the text is flowing down from one another inside these rectilinear shapes and expresses a sense of movement. There is also consistency and repetition with the shapes and the text to create a unified poster. Although the type is quite small for a poster, the contrast in color does make the text stand out and the white space also makes this composition very easy to read.