Theo van Doesburg
Dutch, 1883–1931
Counter-Composition VIII
INV-6496
Theo van Doesburg
Dutch, 1883–19311924
Counter-Composition VIII
Theo van Doesburg Dutch, 1883–1931 →oil on canvaspainting
Date
1924
Medium
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
101 × 101 cm (39 3/4 × 39 3/4 in.)
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Location
Chicago, IL
Credit
Gift of Peggy Guggenheim
In 1917 Theo van Doesburg founded an art periodical in Leiden called De Stijl (The Style). This name also referred to the artists’ group—including Van Doesburg, Piet Mondrian, and Georges Vantongerloo—associated with the publication. These artists saw abstraction as an almost spiritual vehicle to reconstruct art and society following World War I. Their approach, as exemplified by Counter-Composition VIII, was marked by fundamentals: geometry (squares, rectangles, and straight lines) combined with asymmetry; pure primary colors used along with black and white; and positive and negative elements. In addition to painting, De Stijl had a great impact on architecture and design, and it deeply influenced Germany’s famed Bauhaus.
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