# Lozenge Composition with Yellow, Black, Blue, Red, and Gray

**Piet Mondrian** (Dutch, 1872–1944)  
1921  
Oil on canvas  
60 × 60 cm (23 5/8 × 23 5/8 in.)

Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago, 1957.307. [The museum's record](https://www.artic.edu/artworks/109819).

## About this work

Piet Mondrian, a founding member of the international movement De Stijl (the Style), said “the straight line tells the truth.” Deceptively simple, his works are the result of continual tinkering to achieve absolute balance and harmony. In this work, Mondrian rotated a square canvas 90 degrees to create a dynamic relationship between the rectilinear composition and the diagonal lines of the painting's edges.

_Text from the Art Institute of Chicago._

Piet Mondrian painted this in 1921, aged 49. It is now at the Art Institute of Chicago.

### What you’re looking at

A square white tile, rotated 90 degrees, crossed by black lines intersecting at 90-degree angles. A few of the shapes thus formed—some partial squares, some rectangles—are colored in a single shade of yellow, blue, black, or red.

_Description from the Art Institute of Chicago._

### How it was made

- **Oil paint.** Pigment ground in a drying oil, usually linseed. It dries slowly, so painters could blend on the canvas, build up thin translucent glazes, and rework a picture over weeks. Canvas replaced wooden panels in the 1500s because it is lighter and can be rolled.

### [Piet Mondrian](https://www.ochreeditions.com/artists/piet-mondrian)

Dutch, 1872–1944

## Facts

- Type: Painting
- Culture: Netherlands
- The artist was 49
- Real size: about 24 × 24 in (60 × 60 cm). The 18 × 24 in print is close to life size.
- Century: 20th century
- Subjects: geometric, yellow (color), black (color), blue (color), grids, white (color), red (color), squares
- Colour: white
- Rights: public domain (CC0 1.0); free to use for any purpose.

## Get it

- Free download, full resolution: https://img.ochreeditions.com/m/272.jpg?dl=1
- Image: https://img.ochreeditions.com/a/272/1920.jpg
- Giclée reproduction on Hahnemühle Photo Rag: 8 × 10 in $28; 11 × 14 in $38; 12 × 16 in $42; 16 × 20 in $56; 18 × 24 in $68; 20 × 30 in $86; 24 × 36 in $108; 30 × 40 in $148
- Framed reproduction: 8 × 10 in $78; 11 × 14 in $98; 12 × 16 in $108; 16 × 20 in $138; 18 × 24 in $164; 20 × 30 in $208; 24 × 36 in $258; 30 × 40 in $338
- Canvas reproduction: 8 × 10 in $58; 11 × 14 in $72; 12 × 16 in $79; 16 × 20 in $98; 18 × 24 in $118; 20 × 30 in $148; 24 × 36 in $178; 30 × 40 in $228
- Print-ready file: 8 × 10 in $2; 11 × 14 in $2; 12 × 16 in $3; 16 × 20 in $3; 18 × 24 in $3; 20 × 30 in $5; 24 × 36 in $5; 30 × 40 in $5

Sizes stop where the museum's file would print below 150 pixels per inch. Everything sold is a reproduction, made to order. [Order a print](https://www.ochreeditions.com/art/lozenge-composition-with-yellow-black-blue-red-and-gray-aic-109819).