MA-g
The Museum of Avant-garde

Theo Van Doesburg

The Netherlands (1883—1931)

Having trained initially as an actor and singer, Van Doesburg started to exhibit his paintings in 1908, supporting himself by writing for magazines. In writing a review on an exhibition, he discovered Mondrian’s work. In 1917 he founded with him the De Stijl movement and publishing the magazine until 1931. He was also interested in Constructivism and Dada, and contributed to journals such as Mécano. In the early ‘20s he tried to become a member of Bauhaus but despite lecturing his ideas, Gropius never invited him to join the faculty. He also created a typeface used in children’s book with Schwitters. In 1923 he moved to Paris to work with Mondrian but their relationship somehow suffered from this closeness and van Doesburg took a different direction, defining his Elementarism in paintings such as Counter-Compositions series. Van Doesburg also brought De Stijl from canvas to architecture and decorative arts, working with J.J. Oud and van Easterern. In 1926 he redesigned the Aubette Building in Strasburg, involving Hans and Sophie Tauber Arp. In 1929 he helped to create a new group Art Concret, for which he wrote the manifesto and contributed to editing its journal. He died in 1931 of heart attack.

Sophie Taeuber-Arp / Jean Arp / Piet Mondriaan

Wyndham Lewis / Umberto Boccioni / Georges Vantongerloo / Jean Crotti / Jean Arp / Paul Éluard / Max Ernst / Raoul Hausmann / Filippo Tommaso Marinetti / László Moholy-Nagy / Francis Picabia / Man Ray (Emmanuel Radnitzky) / Kurt Schwitters / Tristan Tzara / Theo Van Doesburg / Piet Mondriaan

Mécano

Magazine / Letterpress / Various sizes / Leiden, 1922-1924

+

Hannah Höch / Vilmos Huszár / Jean Arp / El Lissitzky (Lazar Markovich Lissitzky) / Kurt Schwitters / Tristan Tzara / Theo Van Doesburg / Piet Mondriaan

Merz 6

Imitatoren watch step! / Magazine / Letterpress / 14.3 x 22.3 cm / Hannover, 1923 / © 2020 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn

+

Enrico Prampolini / Walter Serner / Paul Éluard / Max Ernst / Francis Picabia / Tristan Tzara / Theo Van Doesburg / Piet Mondriaan

Bleu

Magazine / Letterpress / 25 x 37 cm / Mantova, 1920-1921

+

Abstraction création art non figuratif

Magazine / Letterpress / 21.2 x 27.8 cm / Paris, 1932-1936

+

Hannah Höch / Vilmos Huszár / Francis Picabia / Kurt Schwitters / Theo Van Doesburg

Merz 1

Holland Dada / Magazine / Letterpress / 14.3 x 21.9 cm / Hannover, 1923 / © 2020 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn

Gerrit Rietveld / Gino Severini / Bart van der Leck / César Domela / Georges Vantongerloo / Jean Arp / Theo Van Doesburg / Piet Mondriaan

De Stijl

Magazine / Letterpress / 20.7 x 28.6 cm / Delft / Leiden / Meudon, 1921-1932

+

El Lissitzky (Lazar Markovich Lissitzky) / Theo Van Doesburg

Of two squares: A suprematist tale in six constructions

Illustrated book / 26.2 x 21.4 cm / The Hague, 1922 / © 2020 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn

+

Kurt Schwitters / Theo Van Doesburg

Dada Matinée

Original lithograph / 85 x 82 cm / 1923

Henryk Berlewi / Wladyslaw Strzeminski / Teresa Żarnowerówna / Ludwig Mies van der Rohe / Katarzyna Kobro / Henryk Stażewski / Mieczysław Szczuka / Kazimir Maljevič / Filippo Tommaso Marinetti / Kurt Schwitters / Theo Van Doesburg

Blok

Czasopismo awangardy artystyczne / Magazine / Letterpress / 46 x 61 cm / Warsaw, 1924-1926

František Kupka / Georges Vantongerloo / Theo Van Doesburg / Piet Mondriaan

Vouloir

Revue mensuelle d'esthétique néo-plastique / Magazine / Letterpress / 25.4 x 32.4 cm / Lille, 1924-1927

+

Jean Arp / Kurt Schwitters / Tristan Tzara / Theo Van Doesburg

Merz 2

Nummer i / Magazine / Letterpress / 14.4 x 22.2 cm / Hannover, 1923 / © 2020 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn

Theo Van Doesburg

Soldatenverzen

Cardboard, loose pages / Letterpress / 21 x 31 cm / 1915

+

Paul Joostens / Jozef Peeters / Jean Crotti / Paul Éluard / Lajos Kassák / Francis Picabia / Theo Van Doesburg

Ça Ira!

Revue mensuelle d’art et de critique / Magazine / Letterpress / 22 x 28.5 / 14 x 22 / Antwerp, 1920-1923

+

Theo Van Doesburg

Wat is Dada?

Pamphlet / Letterpress / 12.2 x 15.6 cm / Den Haag, 1923

Kate Steinitz / Kurt Schwitters / Theo Van Doesburg

Merz 14-15

Die Scheuche: Märchen / Illustrated book / Letterpress / 24 x 20.4 cm / Hannover, 1925 / © 2020 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn

+

Anton Giulio Bragaglia / Marcel Janco / Enrico Prampolini / Gino Severini / Umberto Boccioni / Carlo Carrà / Giorgio de Chirico / Paolo Buzzi / Juan Gris / Vilmos Huszár / Jean Arp / Fortunato Depero / Fernand Léger / Filippo Tommaso Marinetti / Varvara Stepanova / Vladimir Tatlin / Tristan Tzara / Theo Van Doesburg

Noi

Rivista d’arte futurista / Magazine / Letterpress / 24 x 33.8 cm / Rome, 1917-1925

+

Ljubomir Micić / Michel Seuphor / Dragan Aleksić / Branko Ve Poljanski / Mihajlo Petrov / Fortunato Depero / Walter Gropius / Wassily Kandinsky / Lajos Kassák / El Lissitzky (Lazar Markovich Lissitzky) / Kazimir Maljevič / Filippo Tommaso Marinetti / Vladimir Mayakovsky / László Moholy-Nagy / Pablo Picasso / Vladimir Tatlin / Theo Van Doesburg / Marc Chagall / Egon Schiele

Zenit

International review of arts and culture / Journal / Letterpress / Various sizes / Zagreb / Belgrade, 1921-1923

+

Kate Steinitz / Kurt Schwitters / Theo Van Doesburg

Merz 11

Typoreklame / Booklet / Letterpress / 21.9 x 28.8 cm / Hannover, 1924 / © 2020 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn

+

Gerrit Rietveld / Émile Malespine / Otto Nebel / Jean Arp / Raoul Hausmann / László Moholy-Nagy / Kurt Schwitters / Tristan Tzara / Theo Van Doesburg

Merz 4

Banalitäten / Magazine / Letterpress / 14.4 x 22.9 cm / Hannover, 1923 / © 2020 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn