The style
de stijl was an art movement that began in holland in 1917. the dutch words “de stijl” mean “the style.” the group began at a time when machines were starting to change the world. like machines, the group wanted their designs to have order and harmony. they did not want to create art that looked natural or real. instead, they wanted to focus on the space between objects.
with these goals in mind, de stijl art ended up looking simple and did not have much detail. the artists used straight lines and basic shapes in order to achieve their look. squares, rectangles, and triangles were very common. the artists used bold colors, black and white. many artists did not use the color green because of its link to nature.
it is important to note that de stijl went far beyond the art world. in fact, one of the people who started the group was an architect. like its art, the group’s building designs had a look of order. the buildings were very simple, with flat roofs and straight lines. the windows were square or rectangular. again, there was little, if any, decoration.
the de stijl members designed a number of houses and buildings in the 1920s. although the movement ended in 1931, de stijl had a huge impact on future architects.
what inspired the artists to use straight lines and basic shapes in their work?
machines
nature
objects
space