"And then about whether or not to work from a given in nature. In my view, you [Van Doesburg] define this in a rather narrow sense. In the main, I do agree with you that the destruction of the natural, and it reconstruction, must be accomplished according to a spiritual image, but I believe that we should take a broad view here. What is natural does not have to be a representation of something. I'm now working on a thing that is a reconstruction of a starry sky [in the painting: Composition, Checkerboard Dark Colours, 1919] and yet I'm making it without a given from nature. Someone who says he uses a theme from nature can be right, but also someone who says he uses nothing at all."
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Piet Mondrian in his letter to Theo van Doesburg, 18 April 1919; as quoted in 'Mondrian, - The Art of Destruction', Carel Blotkamp, Reaktion Books LTD. London 2001, pp. 125-26
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Theo_van_Doesburg
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Theo van Doesburg
Theo van Doesburg (30 August 1883 – 7 March 1931) was a Dutch artist, practicing in painting, writing, poetry and architecture. He is best known as the founder and leader of De Stijl together with Piet Mondrian. Later he engaged himself more with Dadaism, in cooperation with Kurt Schwitters and Hans Arp.
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