Painter, architect, and writer, born in Utrecht, The Netherlands. He began as a poet, but took up painting and exhibited at The Hague in 1908. With Piet Mondrian he founded the avant-garde magazine De Stijl (191731), and devoted himself to propagating the new aesthetic ideas of this movement, based on a severe form of geometrical abstraction known as neo-Plasticism. He later became increasingly involved in architectural projects.
Theo van Doesburg (Utrecht, August 30, 1883 – Davos, March 7, 1931) was a Dutch artist, practicing in painting, writing, poetry and architecture.
Biography
Early life
Theo van Doesburg was born as Christiaan Emil Marie Küpper on August 30 1883 in Utrecht as the son of the photographer Wilhelm Küpper and Henrietta Catherina Margadant.
Founding of 'De Stijl'
It was while reviewing an exposition for one of these magazines, in 1915, that he came in contact with the works of Piet Mondrian, who was eight years older than him, and had then already gained some attention with his paintings. Van Doesburg saw in these paintings his ideal in painting: a complete abstraction of reality. Soon after the exposition Van Doesburg got in contact with Mondrian, and together with other similar-minded artists such as Bart van der Leck, Anthony Kok, Vilmos Huszar and J.J.P.
Van Doesburg promoting 'De Stijl'
Although 'De Stijl' was made up of many members, Van Doesburg was the 'ambassador' of the movement, promoting it across Europe.
Although Gropius accepted a turn towards constructivism in 1923, he did not feel that Doesburg could become a Bauhaus master.
The split with Mondrian
The friendship between Van Doesburg and Mondrian's wife remained strong in these years, although their primary way of communication was by letter. In 1923 Van Doesburg moved to Paris together with his wife Nelly van Doesburg. Because the two men got to see each other on a much more regular basis the differences in character became apparent: Mondrian was introvert, while van Doesburg was more flamboyant and extravagant. usually the divergent ideas about the directions of the lines in the paintings have been named as the primary reason: Mondrian never accepted diagonals, whereas Doesburg insisted on the diagonal's dynamic aspects, and indeed featured it in his art. After the split Van Doesburg launched a new concept for his art: Elementarism, which was characterized by the diagonal lines and rivalled with Mondrian's Neo-Plasticism.
Activities other than painting
Van Doesburg had other activities apart from painting and promoting De Stijl: he made efforts in architecture, designing houses for artists, together with Georges Vantongerloo and he designed the decoration for the Café Aubette in Strasbourg. Together with El Lissitzky and Kurt Schwitters, Van Doesburg pioneered the efforts to an International of Arts in two congresses held in Düsseldorf and Weimar, in 1922.
Van Doesburg also kept a link with DADA, publishing the magazine DADA Holland under the false name of I.
Last years
Van Doesburg stayed active in art groups such as Cercle et Carré, Art Concret and Abstraction-Création, which he founded in 1931. Van Doesburg did not recuperate: on March 7, 1931 he died of a heart attack. After his death Nelly van Doesburg released the last issue of De Stijl as a memorial issue with contributions by old and new members from De Stijl.
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