Abstract
The Writings of Piet Mondrian Piet Mondrian (1872 - 1944) was both a prolific painter and writer in his days. He left behind an impressive number of texts in Dutch, French and English, mainly on the subject of art in relationship to man and society. He wrote most texts by
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far between 1917 and 1943, that is to say, from the age of forty-five to seventy-one, although there were periods when he wrote little and spent more time on his paintings. However, it is remarkable, that Mondrian’s writings have never been available in its original wording and as a complete corpus. At this moment nine editions with collections of texts by Mondrian are known. None of these editions meets the criteria of a scientific edition. Firstly, because the aforesaid editions do not contain all (versions of) texts by Mondrian. Secondly, because the aforesaid editions do not render Mondrian’s texts in the original language and wording. Thirdly, because the editions lack exhaustive commentary. And fourthly, because in these editions the corrections by Mondrian in the manuscripts and typescripts are not perceptible to the reader. In this thesis a new edition of the Mondrian texts is proposed, which includes all texts by Mondrian known so far. It concerns published and unpublished texts, completed and unfinished texts, notes and scrawls, but no correspondence. The crux of the thesis consists of explanations of the Mondrian texts. The elucidations are preceded by three chapters. The first chapter underlines the necessity and importance of a critical edition of the Mondrian texts. The second chapter gives a survey of all editions with collected texts by Mondrian that have appeared so far. But also the failed attempt by Mondrian himself and various attempts by others to have the texts collected are discussed here. In the third chapter the starting points that have been used by the presentation and the explanations of the corpus are expounded. The user of the here presented critical edition has the possibility to consult the transcribed sources in the third (digital) part in the ‘Basis texts’ chapter and thus take note of the so-called diplomatic rendering of the basic texts from which the reading texts have been constructed. The corrections in the basic text have been marked with diacritical signs . We would like to achieve two things with our critical edition. First of all, the edition wants to serve explicitly as a work of reference. For example, the user could find answers to questions such as - ‘Which texts did Mondrian write in 1926?’ or ‘What is Mondrian writing in his letters about a certain text?’ ‘How was a certain passage formulated in the original language?’ ‘Which translations of a given text are available?’ Secondly, the critical edition wants to provide a basis for further scientific research into Mondrian’s work and serve as a starting point for other editions (translations for example). With this critical edition - as presented in this thesis - we think we can contribute substantially to the research into Mondrian’s writings and thus add to the conservation of an essential part of the Dutch cultural heritage
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