Origins & History

New art movements appeared stemming from The Impressionists' revolutionary new style of painting which inspired artists around the world, particularly in the early twentieth century when Cubism, a popular and very influential direction originated. In the Netherlands during this time there was a huge interest in this "new art." Because The Netherlands was neutral during World War I Dutch artists were isolated from the international art world and were not able to leave the country after 1914. During this time Painter Theo van Doesburg started looking for other artists to set up a journal and start an art movement. Van Doesburg who was a writer, poet, and critic, who had been more successful writing about art than working as an independent artist. He was great at making new contacts and had many useful connections in the art world because of his friendly, flamboyant personality and outgoing nature. Around 1915, Van Doesburg began meeting the artists who would eventually become the founders of the journal producing the group's theories. The De Stijl art movement, which means “the style” was  founded by architect and painter Theo van Deosburg in 1917 in Leiden. 

The movement lasted from
 1917 to 1928 in Holland, Netherlands. De Stijl is influential in modern day design and architecture. The most famous and critically acclaimed works were produced in the mature period of De Stijl. Many critics would say that their other periods didn't portray the same level of prestige as this time of De Stijl did. The downfall of the movement began when Piet Mondrian was witnessed resigning his post after a confrontation with Theo Van Doesburg. After this the art started to become inconsistent and lost the character and attractiveness of its appearance. Even the most supportive art critics of the movement began to criticize the De Stijl movement due to multiple inconsistencies.