Artwork
Chrysanthemum
Chrysanthemum is an oil painting by the Post-Impressionist artist Piet Mondrian. It dates from 1906 and is held in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
Classified as a floral painting, the work focuses entirely on the botanical subject, presenting the bloom as its sole iconographic element.
Created in 1906 by Piet Mondrian, this oil painting on canvas depicts a single chrysanthemum flower. Classified as a floral painting, the work focuses entirely on the botanical subject, presenting the bloom as its sole iconographic element. The piece represents an early phase in the Dutch artist's career, prior to his later abstract developments, grounding the imagery in direct observation of nature.
The composition isolates the flower, emphasizing its organic form without additional symbolic context. The work is held in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art.
Technique & Style
Executed in 1906, this floral painting by Piet Mondrian uses oil paint applied to a canvas support. The work measures 41.5 cm in height and 38.5 cm in width. Created in the Netherlands, the piece depicts a chrysanthemum, adhering to the genre of floral painting.
The combination of oil medium and canvas constitutes the primary material composition of the artwork, which is held in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art.
History & Provenance
Chrysanthemum was executed by Piet Mondrian in 1906 in the Netherlands as an oil-on-canvas painting. The work, catalogued as a floral painting, measures 41.5 cm × 38.5 cm and depicts a chrysanthemum. It is held in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art under accession number 1958.38. The available documentation does not record any exhibition history for the piece.
Overview
Piet Mondrian's Chrysanthemum, painted in oil in 1906, represents an early phase in the Dutch artist's career. This figurative work showcases his engagement with natural subjects before his renowned development of abstract art. It offers insight into the foundational period of an artist who would become a pivotal figure in 20th-century modernism. The painting is currently housed in The Cleveland Museum of Art.
Context
This work belongs to Mondrian's early period, when he was exploring post-impressionist approaches. As an artist who also engaged deeply with art theory, his initial figurative works like Chrysanthemum reveal his intellectual and stylistic journey. They demonstrate a foundational stage before he fully articulated the principles that would define Neoplasticism and establish his legacy as a pioneer of abstract art.
Artist & collection
Artist
Pieter Cornelis Mondriaan (Dutch:; 7 March 1872 – 1 February 1944), known after 1911 as Piet Mondrian (, US also; Dutch: ), was a Dutch painter and art theoretician, who is regarded as one of the greatest artists of the 20th century.
