Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Here is the essential book on De Stijl, one of the longest lived and most influential of modern art movements. H. L. C. Jaffeacute; recounts the history of this abstract movement; explains its artistic goals and practice; delineates its utopian ideology; and describes the special qualities of De Stijl painting, sculpture, architecture, and design. Jaffeacute; charts the evolution of the movement from its beginning in 1917 with the founding of the journal De Stijl. He locates the philosophical origins of the artistic program, which put aside representation of nature and confined itself to "pure" forms of expression: vertical and horizontal lines and the primary colors--yellow, blue, red--against white, black, and gray. He describes the roles of Ban Doesburg, De Stijl's driving force, and Mondrian, its leading exponent; the application of its principles to design and architecture; and the involvement of sculptors Arp and Brancusi. He places De Stijl in relation to other abstract arts and demonstrates its wide range of influence. Throughout Jaffeacute; quotes extensively from the writings of the De Stijl group, allowing the artists themselves to describe their aims and methods; a complete forty-page pamphlet by Mondrian, Art and Life (1931) is appended.

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

• Preface
• Introduction
• Dates and Facts
• Biographies
• The Origins of de Stijl
• De Stijl's origins in art history
• De Stijl's philosophical origins
• The origins of De Stijl: the circumstances of time
• The origins of De Stijl: the local conditions
• Character and Development of de Stijl
• The artistic aims and the aesthetic principles
• The content: Universal vision Art and lift-the Utopian prospect
• The realization of De Stijl's conceptions
• De Stijl's Influence on the Various Artistic Domains
• De Stijl as a Signpost P. Mondriaan: Art and Life
• P. Mondriaan: The True Value of the Oppositions Plates
• Notes
• Bibliographical
• References
• List of Plates