New Mondriaans still regularly appear, often working in private ownership. Since the publication of his catalog raisonné in 1998, in which 1400 works are described, some 30 new works have now been added.
Often these are portraits, but there is also free work, especially from the period when Mondriaan still painted figuratively. Wietse Coppes expects that another work will be added soon, but that is still under investigation.
Pioneer abstract art
Mondriaan has painted many portraits, for friends, but also on commission, in total 93. It was a way for him to earn money. From 1915 his work started to become more and more abstract. He is therefore seen as a pioneer of abstract and non-figurative art.
His later geometric work, with the characteristic horizontal and vertical black lines and primary colours, is especially world famous. He was one of the most important artists of the De Stijl art movement. His most famous work is Victory Boogie Woogie, painted between 1942 and 1944, while he was living in New York. That work hangs in the Kunstmuseum The Hague.
The portraits that have now been discovered are all privately owned and therefore cannot be seen by the public. The painting by Betsy Bergman-Cavalini is also privately owned, but it hangs temporarily in the Jan Cunen Museum in Oss.
The book by Nick Draaijer, Mondrian’s Secret Portraitswill be published today by Pluim publishers.
–
