Topic 1: Dutch artist Piet Mondrian once said that “All painting – the painting of the past as well as of the present
shows us that its essential plastic means are only line and
color.” (Mondrian in Goldwater and Treves, 1945, 426-427)
How do you think this quote relates to the birth and
development of abstract art in the first half of the twentieth
century? Is it possible to provide just one definition of
abstraction? Using at least one example of abstract works
discussed in class, discuss the two questions above.