PIET MONDRIAN – AGES 8 – 9 | ONLINE EDITION
Step 1 - Introducing the Master Artist:
Slideshow Guide
MOTIVATION
BEGIN READING HERE
How would you like to decorate your bedroom? Have you ever imagined decorating your
room to look like a work of art? I don’t mean decorating it by just hanging pictures on the
walls to make it look nice. What if you painted the walls, the floor, and even the furniture
to look like a large, living painting where everything fit together to look like a work of art?
Can you imagine such a room? Would you like that for your room? Can you think of what
kind of art you would create in your room?
Click Start Lesson To Begin
There once was an artist named Piet Mondrian who decorated his apartment the way I just
described to you. Let’s take a look, and see if you’d like to live there.
1. MONDRIAN’S STUDIO
Would you like to live in a home decorated like this? It’s very different, isn’t it? This is a
photograph of Piet Mondrian’s home in New York City. He surrounded himself with his
art, but not just in his paintings. He decorated the walls with lines and colored squares and
rectangles in red, yellow, and blue. The floor was treated in the same way. His kitchen
table was painted white with a red drawer. Do you see the painting he was working on? It’s
leaning against the easel, placed just right to fit in with the rest of the patterns. Other
finished canvases were carefully placed to fit in with the wall decorations in other parts of
the room.
Mondrian was poor his whole life, so his apartment was not in the best part of the city. He
didn’t have a lot of furniture or belongings, as you can see, so he decorated with his own
art.
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2. PIET MONDRIAN
This is a photo of the artist who lived in that apartment, Piet Mondrian. He was born in
Holland but lived most of his life in Paris and New York. Holland is a small country across
the ocean in Europe. It’s famous for its old windmills and beautiful flowers, especially
1 PIET MONDRIAN – Ages 8 – 9 | MeetTheMasters Online Edition
PIET MONDRIAN – AGES 8 – 9 | ONLINE EDITION
tulips. As a boy, Mondrian was surrounded by painters in his family, and he began to paint
at a very young age.
Mondrian’s work gives us the unique chance to follow his steady growth as an artist. Stepbystep we can see him learn and change by looking at his drawings and paintings. As you
see his paintings today, you will notice a big change from his first artwork to his last
paintings. It was hard for a young painter to break away from what was popular at the
time. It was really hard to do if the artist, like Mondrian, needed the money from selling his
pictures in order to make a living.
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3. RED TREE
Can you tell me what this is? (A TREE) The title of this painting by Mondrian is “Red Tree”.
A painting that shows something the way it actually looks is called REALISTIC. It looks like
the real thing. Is this a realistic painting that would look like a photograph taken of the
same tree? (NO) If a painting is not realistic, we call it ABSTRACT. What makes this an
abstract painting? (COLOR, SKY, PATTERNS SURROUNDING TREE) Is it totally
abstract? (NO, IT’S A TREE)
Mondrian painted trees over and over again. Each time he changed the color and form.
Each time the trees became more and more abstract.
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4. FLOWERING APPLETREE
Can you tell me what this picture shows? (A TREE) The title of this painting is Flowering
Appletree. Is it abstract or realistic? (ABSTRACT) As Mondrian painted trees again and
again, they kept getting more and more abstract. Look carefully. Can you see the trunk
from which all the branches grew? The broken lines are repeated for branches. Do you
see a pattern or design in this painting? (YES)
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5. COMPOSITION 1932
Can you tell me what this painting is supposed to be? No, it’s impossible to tell, but it is
about color and balance. Mondrian created his own style of art, new to the world, when he
painted this. He used only lines, colors, and shapes and made them BALANCE.
Have you ever had fun on a teeter-totter or seesaw? To be able to go up and down, the
two ends have to balance. I want you to use your imagination, and picture colors and
rectangles on the teeter-totter instead of children! To make it balance, we have to use
different sizes, shapes, and colors.
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PIET MONDRIAN – AGES 8 – 9 | ONLINE EDITION
That’s what Mondrian did in his paintings. He balanced his lines, colors, and shapes, like
children on a teeter-totter. Picture this. On one end of the teeter-totter is a square of red,
and on the other side is a square of white. Instead of balancing size and weight in
children, we must balance color and shape to make the teeter-totter work. In this painting
do you think red and white would balance on a teeter-totter? (NO) Which color would be
“down?” (RED) Do you see why he chose to place his colors where he did? He painted a
big red square at the bottom and balanced it with smaller shapes of blue and yellow at the
top. What is the special word used for red, yellow and blue? (PRIMARY COLORS) He
began to use only the pure colors of red, yellow and blue.
Mondrian said, “The modern painter must turn completely away from nature.” Do you see
anything of nature here like trees or flowers? (NO) Look at the lines he used. Are any
curved? (NO) They are all straight and all HORIZONTAL or VERTICAL. Can you
remember what the words horizontal and vertical mean? Please show me with your hand.
That’s very good! Vertical lines go up and down; horizontal lines go from side to side.
How do you think Mondrian was able to paint such straight lines? (RULER OR
STRAIGHT EDGE) Yes, he used a ruler and, sometimes, long pieces of tape to help him
make his very straight lines.
Mondrian never changed from straight lines - horizontal and vertical - in any of his artwork.
For the rest of his life, Mondrian kept painting lines, colors, and shapes. But he also
continued to change. Look closely at the next painting, and tell me how he changed his
style.
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6. COMPOSITION III
Have you found the change? Good, was that change the addition of many more lines?
Are those lines still horizontal and vertical? (YES) Are any lines thicker than others?
(YES) Does adding more lines closer together make you feel there’s a force or power that
wasn’t there before? (YES) Let’s compare this one with many lines, to the one before
with fewer lines. Look carefully, and see if the first one seems more peaceful.
Click Back To Change Slide
5. COMPOSITION 1932
Does the first one seem more peaceful and quiet with fewer lines? (YES) Good for you!
Click Next Twice
7. NEW YORK CITY
Mondrian continued to change and try new things in his art. What is new in this painting?
(COLORED LINES, NO RECTANGLES OF COLOR) In the latter part of his life, Mondrian
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PIET MONDRIAN – AGES 8 – 9 | ONLINE EDITION
moved to New York. He painted this while living there and titled it after the city. Have you
ever visited a big, busy, noisy city? Do you think a big city makes you feel crowded,
rushed, excited? Mondrian loved New York and wanted to show what an exciting place it
is.
Do the yellow lines seem to jump out at you? (YES) Why do you notice them first? (MORE
LINES IN YELLOW, MOSTLY PAINTED IN FRONT OF RED AND BLUE LINES) Can
you feel the big, busy city in his lines? I can almost see the many streets, the neon
flashing lights, the busy people rushing about. It’s amazing that with only lines, Mondrian
can make us feel the life of the city!
Click Next To Change Slide
8, 9, 10. BROADWAY BOOGIE WOOGIE
What new thing did Mondrian add to this painting? (HE ADDED SMALL COLORED
RECTANGLES INSIDE THE LINES) Do these rectangles make it seem like it is moving?
(YES) Now we are going to hear three different types of music and I want you to choose
the music segment you think best matches the painting: number 1, number 2, or number
3. Wait until you have heard all three styles before you make your decision.
If you voted for number 3, the jazz music, then you felt the same way an artist named Piet
Mondrian did when he painted this picture. He was listening to jazz music as he painted.
Even the title of the painting sounds like music. It is called Broadway Boogie Woogie.
Broadway is a famous street in New York City. Boogie Woogie was a popular form of jazz
music while Mondrian was living there.
Could you feel the beat or rhythm of that music and see that same rhythm in Mondrian’s
painting? (POINT OUT SQUARES OF UNEVEN RHYTHM IN COLORED LINES) Jazz
was Mondrian’s favorite music.
Read Pierre’s final
thoughts on Piet
Mondrian.
When complete, click
Back To Units to Exit
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PIET MONDRIAN – AGES 8 – 9 | ONLINE EDITION
Step 2 - Learning From: Mondrian’s Balance
The designs below are missing shapes that will balance them. Use a pencil to draw more
squares and rectangles to create balance.
Add some bigger shapes to make this design seem balanced.
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PIET MONDRIAN – AGES 8 – 9 | ONLINE EDITION
Line Balance
Add Horizontal lines (
) or Vertical lines (
) to balance these designs
Mondrian used three colors: red, blue, yellow. Use crayons or pencils to color and balance
this design.
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PIET MONDRIAN – AGES 8 – 9 | ONLINE EDITION
ARTIST PROFILE SLIPS
The last few pages of this section contain the Art Activity for Piet Mondrian. This step-bystep outline will be a guide for instructing your child(ren) through the activity.
The parent/teacher should review all steps necessary to complete this project before
beginning any work.
Cut out the Artist Profile Slip below and attach it to the back of your completed art project.
Piet Mondrian
(Peet MON-dree-ahn) - Dutch (1872-1944)
Mondrian’s geometric, abstract art illustrated the balance of shapes and colors in modern
art. After being introduced to the work of this master artist from Holland, the children
imitated his expressive arrangements of colors, lines, and shapes.
ART ACTIVITY EMPHASIS: Balance of shapes, lines, and colors
MEDIA: Construction Paper
Piet Mondrian
(Peet MON-dree-ahn) - Dutch (1872-1944)
Mondrian’s geometric, abstract art illustrated the balance of shapes and colors in modern
art. After being introduced to the work of this master artist from Holland, the children
imitated his expressive arrangements of colors, lines, and shapes.
ART ACTIVITY EMPHASIS: Balance of shapes, lines, and colors
MEDIA: Construction Paper
7 PIET MONDRIAN – Ages 8 – 9 | MeetTheMasters Online Edition
PIET MONDRIAN – AGES 8 – 9 | ONLINE EDITION
Step 3 - Working With: Art Activity Instructions
ARTIST
Piet Mondrian (Peet MON-dree-ahn)
(1872 - 1944) Dutch
TECHNIQUE
Paper design
ART ELEMENTS
Balance
EMPHASIS
Balancing color, line, and shape
MEDIA
Paper
VISUAL
Print: Broadway Boogie Woogie
VOCABULARY
Balance, primary colors, horizontal,
vertical, abstract
SUGGESTED MUSIC
Music of the 1900’s, American Jazz
1940’s, or Bach
MATERIALS FOR INSTRUCTOR AND CHILDREN
Three 3" x 3" squares of construction paper (1 each of red, yellow, blue)
Eight 1/4" x 12" strips of black construction paper
One 12" x 12" sheet of white construction paper
Artist profile slip (page 7)
One piece of scrap paper (for dab of glue)
One Q-tip
White glue
Scissors
PREPARATION
Construct an example so that you become familiar with the procedure. Place the Mondrian
print and your demonstration papers on the board in front of the room. Have glue, Q-tip, and
scissors nearby. (Or find a desk or table where you can demonstrate. Have the students
gather around to watch.)
SET-UP [ 5 minutes ]
Distribute the following materials to each child:
SUPPLIES: Q-tips
PAPER: Colored Squares, white paper, black strips,and the artist profile slip
SCRAP PAPER: small scraps of paper and a dime-size dab of glue
ORIENTATION [ 5 minutes ]
(Have the children put their Learning Packets on their work area. Point out the print,
Broadway Boogie Woogie.)
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PIET MONDRIAN – AGES 8 – 9 | ONLINE EDITION
Can you name the artist of this painting? Are his paintings realistic or abstract? (Abstract)
What do you see in his paintings? (Squares, rectangles, lines, primary colors.) Mondrian
called his paintings COMPOSITIONS. Why do you think he used that word instead of
design? (His paintings were serious studies of balance of colors and lines.) He
numbered each composition, and sometimes you can find it hidden on a line with his initials
in the painting. (Point out signature in print.)
Mondrian worked very hard to make his painting seem BALANCED. You did some balancing
exercises in your Learning Packets. You balanced large white shapes with smaller dark
shapes. (Find an example to show.) You also balanced horizontal and vertical lines.
(Find some examples to share.) Today you will balance your own composition, as
Mondrian would have. Let’s get organized so we can begin!
ORGANIZE THE WORK AREA
1. Put your Learning Packets out of the way.
2. Put your scrap of paper for glue and Q-tip on the top corner of your work space.
3. Put your artist profile slip at the other top corner of your work area.
4. Put your small colored pieces of paper on top of your white paper.
DEMONSTRATION [ 5 to 10 minutes ]
ARRANGE THE PIECES [ 5 to 7 minutes ]
1. First you will arrange your colored squares on your white background paper. (Try
several different arrangements and ask each time if they seem balanced.)
2. Then you will add some horizontal strips. How do they look if they are separated from
the colored squares? (Demonstrate separated strips.) How do they look if they are
touching the colored squares? (Demonstrate strips touching squares.) What is most like
Mondrian? (Touching)
3. Do they seem to need some vertical strips for balance? (Add some vertical strips and
get reactions.) What happens when I make a strip slant a little? (It is not pleasing or
balanced.)
4. If you want a shorter strip or a smaller square, use your scissors, but be very careful to
cut it straight: First fold the paper to the size you want, and then cut along the fold.
5. Keep all lines and shapes vertical or horizontal.
GLUE THE PIECES TO THE BACKGROUND
When your design is balanced and pleasing to you, gently lift each corner of a shape and slip
a little glue under it with a Q-tip. Also glue along the strip so that each strip lies flat and
straight. Then press it down carefully. Work very carefully from the top to the bottom so that
you don’t forget what you have glued!
SIGN YOUR NAME
Students may want to sign their names as Mondrian did. He often printed the number of the
composition, the date (last two digits only), and his initials somewhere within the design. A
white or yellow pencil works well to write student’s initials on one of the black lines.
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PIET MONDRIAN – AGES 8 – 9 | ONLINE EDITION
ACTIVITY [ 20 to 25 minutes ]
Now that you know what to do:
1. Arrange and balance the pieces.
2. Glue them down.
3. Add your special signature.
You may begin. (This is a good time to start the music. Mondrian loved to listen to Bach
and Jazz on his Gramophone while he worked.)
MOUNTING THE ARTIST PROFILE SLIP [ 2 minutes ]
(Profile slips for each artist are provided. They give a brief description of the artist, the
technique, and the media used in the art activity. They should be mounted on the back of
each art project after completion.)
1. Write your name on the front of the artist profile slip.
2. Using glue, mount the profile slip on the back of your artwork.
3. Encourage children to discuss their artwork with others using this artist slip of information.
CONCLUSION
Let’s share your wonderful abstract pictures. I see great balance of shapes and colors. Isn’t
it surprising to know that you could make many different works of art with just four colors and
two shapes! Mondrian would be so pleased to see your creations!
CLEAN UP [ 5 minutes ]
Appoint a helper to collect the following:
SUPPLIES: White and yellow pencils
SCRAP PAPER: Scraps of paper and Q-tips to throw away
GUIDANCE
Limit the students to the horizontal and vertical format, but challenge them to be as creative
as they can within it. Remind them that they do not have to use all of the pieces! Encourage
them to make their composition as different as they can. While they are working, encourage
the students to listen to the music of Mondrian’s time (instead of talking). This stimulates
creativity centered in the right side of the brain.
This Concludes The Piet Mondrian Unit.
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