It took a while for Theo van Doesburg to let go of the idea that abstract art was based on misconception. His own work consisted of small naturalist paintings in the style of The Hague School. He radically changed his views after meeting in Utrecht with Erich Wichman and Janus de Winter, painter of aura portraits and ‘forms of thought’. Van Doesburg gave it a try himself in 1915, but also experimented with fast sketches of figures in motion. These were most likely inspired by figures in La Danse painted by Henri Matisse (1910), of which he owned a reproduction. Mouvement héroïque was designed using a ruler and compass.
It took a while for Theo van Doesburg to let go of the idea that abstract art was based on misconception. His own work consisted of small naturalist paintings in the style of The Hague School. He radically changed his views after meeting in Utrecht with Erich Wichman and Janus de Winter, painter of aura portraits and ‘forms of thought’. Van Doesburg gave it a try himself in 1915, but also experimented with fast sketches of figures in motion. These were most likely inspired by figures in La Danse painted by Henri Matisse (1910), of which he owned a reproduction. Mouvement héroïque was designed using a ruler and compass.
signatuur en datering r.o. (met zwarte verf): TvD [monogram] 1916
signatuur achterzijde : Th v Doesburg
Remarks
Tot cat. Van Doesburg 2000 was de titel Heroïsche beweging (La Danse).
Documentation
'1940'. Deuxième exposition. Rétrospective Van Doesburg, (Parijs, 1932), cat. nr. 37, p. 5
'Dreaming in the abstract' : Mondrian, psychoanalysis and abstract art in the Netherlands, by Michael White, (The Burlington Magazine, 148, 1235, february 2006), 98 - 106, p. 102, afb. 40 in kleur; p. 103
Beeldenstorm : 5 : close-ups van beeldende kunst, Henk van Os. onder red. van Thijs Tromp en Ineke Mesdag, (Amsterdam, 2001), p. 146, met afb. 6 in kleur
