.

             Mondrian's early paintings are fairly conventional Dutch landscapes, but after 1908--when he became aware of recent and avant-garde art movements of that time (symbolism and Fauvism)--he began to withdraw from imitation of nature. This inclination was supported by his decision in 1909 to join the Theosophical Society, whose religious mysticism encouraged him to turn inward to a spiritual world. .

             Mondrain"s evolution as an artist represents the origin and essence of De Stijl. Working to free painting completely from both the depiction of nameable objects and the expression of personal feelings, he developed and austre style baes on the expressive potential of fundamental visual elements and their relationships. He sought to create a new aesthetic that would provide a poetic vitality capable of setting standards of harmony for the new technological age (Preable, 439).

             From 1917 until his death in 1944, Mondrian was the leading spokesperson for an art reflecting universal order. For Mondiran, the universal elements were straight lines, the three primary colors, and rectangular shapes. He reduvced painting to four elements: line, shape, color, and space. Composition with red, yellow , and blue, completed in 1930, exemplifies his totally nonrepresentational later work.

             In 1940, Mondrian left Europe for New York, where he spent the last four years of his life. New York was a joy to him because it seemed to be a celebration oh human achievement. He was fascinating by the geometric, technological world, its neon lights, and especially the staccato rhythms of American Jazz. His enthusiasm for music, dancing, and his new environment gave his final paintings, such as Broadway Boogie-Woogie, a pulsing, rhythmic energy.

             The New Plastic in Painting', best expresses their ideas for a universal, elemental art divorced from the need to serve representation: `The new plastic art.can only be based on the abstraction of all form and colour, i.