Hans Janssen

The Flemish painter Jean Brusselmans (1884-1953) was a contemporary of artists such as Constant Permeke and Gustave De Smet. He began his artistic career at the height of Flemish Expressionism, but he was far more than a pure Expressionist. His ultimate goal was to reveal the harmonic order of things. Brusselmans' oeuvre cannot easily be categorised. He continuously searched for a refined, authentic art, for the correct proportions and for the perfect balance between figuration and abstraction. Brusselmans reduced reality to its essence. Profoundly influenced by, amongst other things, Belgian abstract artists, constructivists, Cézanne's structural use of colour and the objective idiom of Le Corbusier, Jean Brusselmans stands out as one of the most original artists of Belgian modernism. His innovative style was, and still is, a source of inspiration for many contemporary artists. This book focuses on the period 1931-1949, in which Brusselmans developed a highly personal style and idiom. Essays are contributed by, amongst others, art historian Rudi Fuchs and exhibition curator Hans Jannsen, as well as an interview with conceptual artist Jan Dibbets. Contents: Preface by Benno Tempel; Interview with Jan Dibbets; Brusselmans Revisited by Rudi Fuchs; On the Visual Motif in the Work of Jean Brusselmans by Hans Janssen; Catalogue; Biography. Text in English and Dutch.

Originally published in Dutch to accompany a 2014 exhibition at the Gemeentemuseum Den Haag (now Kunstmuseum Den Haag), this important survey of a pivotal period in the life of Piet Mondrian is now available in English. Drawn to the Cubist work of Georges Braque and Pablo Picasso, Mondrian spent two years in Paris, from 1912 to 1914, that led him to begin experimenting with an entirely original abstract style. Using a cubist palette of grey and ochre, the artist transformed the landscapes and architectural facades of his earlier figurative works into compositional structures of increasing complexity and abstraction. Upon his return to the Netherlands in 1914, the artist exhibited the 17 works he had painted during those two significant years in France. This volume maps Cubism’s influence on artists working in the Netherlands at that time, and demonstrates Mondrian’s central role in bridging the gap between the French Cubists and their Dutch contemporaries. Accompanying over 300 illustrations – including close details of key works – is a chronology by Mondrian expert Hans Janssen tracking the artist's development within the context of its time.

In the early 1920s, a group of Dutch artists and architects influenced by some of the ideas of Dada, formed a movement called De Stijl (The Style). The Story of De Stijl presents work by Piet Mondrian, Theo van Doesburg, Gerrit Rietveld, and the other members of this influential group, as well as archival photographs of the artists. The authors - experts in this seminal abstract style that encompassed painting, sculpture, architecture, interior design, and more - explore the evolution of the movement not just through traditional art-historical analysis, but also through anecdotes, conversations, articles, and other contemporary sources. With more than 325 colour illustrations, The Story of De Stijl makes clear the lasting importance and influence of this once avant-garde movement.