The name Piet Mondrian is inextricably linked to the notion of geometric abstract imagery – but what did the artistic beginnings of this Dutch avantgarde painter look like? What rich diversity did Dutch landscape and genre painting develop in the period from about 1840 until 1930? The gamut runs from the romantic trends of the early years to the important Hague School around Jozef Israëls to impressionist, symbolist and expressionist tendencies around 1900 and after. Whereas painters such as Hendrik Willem Mesdag und Charles Rochussen continued the tradition of seventeenth century Dutch landscape painting and developed new qualities in plein-air painting, artists such as Johannes Zoetelief Tromp, Bernardus Blommers and German Grobe focused more on people and their living environments. Isaac Israëls, Henricus Johannes Kuijten, Jean A. Pollones and Jan Toorop, on the other hand, were drawn to major painterly experiments. This is the context in which the early Piet Mondrian emerged.
