c. 1905
Piet Mondrian Dutch, 1872-1944
Netherlands
This drawing relates closely to a painting in the Gemeentemuseum in The Hague (25.1995) in both subject matter and style. However, it is nearly impossible to establish when the drawing was made or whether the drawing or painting came first. Prior to 1908, Piet Mondrian rarely dated his work; moreover, his artistic evolution is hard to trace chronologically since he made two kinds of work simultaneously: formally experimental landscapes and—forced by his meager finances to appeal to buyers—naturalistic scenes. Based on stylistic similarities to other works of that time, Robert Welsh, a scholar of Mondrian’s early work, dated the sheet to around 1905.
Fabricated charcoal on blue laid paper