# De Stijl

> A Dutch movement formed around Theo van Doesburg's journal De Stijl and Piet Mondrian's Neoplasticism, which sought universal harmony through the most elementary means: horizontal and vertical lines, rectangles, the three primaries and black, white and grey. In typography it produced block-constructed letters and orthogonal, asymmetric layouts whose principles flowed directly into the Bauhaus and the New Typography.

- Period: 1917–1931
- Where: Western Europe
- Origin: Leiden and Amsterdam, the Netherlands
- Branch: Avant-garde
- Also known as: Neoplasticism, Nieuwe Beelding, Elementarism
- Page: https://stylogeny.com/styles/de-stijl/

## How it works

- Use only horizontals and verticals (van Doesburg's later Elementarism tilts the whole system 45°).
- Divide the field asymmetrically into rectangles of unequal size held in dynamic equilibrium.
- Colour only with red, yellow and blue plus black, white and grey, in flat, unmodulated fields.
- Separate planes with heavy black bars instead of outlines, texture or ornament.
- Construct letters from square modules and straight strokes so type obeys the same grid as the composition.
- Strive for the universal over the individual: eliminate gesture, texture and representation.

## Its design choices

Defining choices make the style, characteristic ones are usual, occasional ones turn up now and then.

### Layout & composition
- [Dynamic asymmetry](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/dynamic-asymmetry/) (defining)
- [Modular grid](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/modular-grid/) (characteristic)
- [Full bleed](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/full-bleed/) (occasional)
- [Diagonal axis](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/diagonal-axis/) (occasional)

### Space & hierarchy
- [Measured density](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/measured-density/) (characteristic)
- [Generous white space](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/generous-white-space/) (characteristic)

### Typography
- [All caps](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/all-caps/) (characteristic)
- [Hand-lettering](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/hand-lettering/) (characteristic)
- [Geometric sans](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/geometric-sans/) (occasional)
- [Grotesque & neo-grotesque](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/grotesque-and-neo-grotesque/) (occasional)

### Colour
- [Primary triad](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/primary-triad/) (defining)
- [Flat fields](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/flat-fields/) (defining)
- [Light ground](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/light-ground/) (characteristic)

### Form & shape
- [Rectilinear](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/rectilinear/) (defining)
- [Non-representational](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/non-representational/) (defining)
- [Geometric primitives](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/geometric-primitives/) (occasional)

### Surface & texture
- [Flat](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/flat/) (defining)

### Ornament
- [Rules & bars](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/rules-and-bars/) (defining)
- [Ornament-free](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/ornament-free/) (characteristic)

### Imagery
- [Typography only](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/typography-only/) (characteristic)

### Medium & production
- [Hand-painted](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/hand-painted/) (characteristic)
- [Letterpress](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/letterpress/) (characteristic)
- [Architecture & signage](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/architecture-and-signage/) (characteristic)

### Tone & intent
- [Utopian & idealistic](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/utopian-and-idealistic/) (characteristic)
- [Rational & objective](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/rational-and-objective/) (characteristic)
- [Spiritual & sacred](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/spiritual-and-sacred/) (occasional)
- [Calm & contemplative](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/calm-and-contemplative/) (occasional)

Avoids: Biomorphic curves, Whiplash line, Floral & vegetal, Gradients, Central symmetry, Naturalistic depiction, Horror vacui

Palette: #f5f3ee, #111111, #d52b1e, #f4c20d, #1f4ea1, #9e9e9a

Typefaces: Theo van Doesburg's rectilinear alphabet (1919; digitised as Architype Van Doesburg), Vilmos Huszár's block-letter De Stijl masthead (1917), Plain grotesques for running text

Known for: Theo van Doesburg (De Stijl journal, 1917–32; rectilinear alphabet, 1919); Piet Mondrian (Composition with Red, Blue and Yellow, 1930); Vilmos Huszár (De Stijl cover and masthead, 1917); Bart van der Leck; Gerrit Rietveld (Red Blue Chair, c. 1918–23; Schröder House, 1924); Café Aubette interiors, Strasbourg (van Doesburg, Sophie Taeuber-Arp & Hans Arp, 1926–28)

## Where it comes from, and what it’s close to

- Grew out of: [Cubist Pictorial Space](https://stylogeny.com/styles/cubism.md) (1907–1925)
- Alike in its design choices: [Bauhaus](https://stylogeny.com/styles/bauhaus.md) (1919–1933), 73% alike
- Alike in its design choices: [International Typographic Style](https://stylogeny.com/styles/swiss-international.md) (1950–1975), 66% alike
- Alike in its design choices: [Die Neue Typographie](https://stylogeny.com/styles/new-typography.md) (1923–1940), 66% alike
- Alike in its design choices: [Total Design & Dutch Functionalism](https://stylogeny.com/styles/dutch-total-design.md) (1963–1990), 65% alike
- Alike in its design choices: [Brazilian Concrete Design](https://stylogeny.com/styles/brazilian-concrete.md) (1951–1975), 64% alike
- Alike in its design choices: [Neo-Swiss Revival](https://stylogeny.com/styles/swiss-revival.md) (2005–present), 62% alike

## Real works

- [Composition with Red, Yellow, and Blue](https://clevelandart.org/art/1967.215): Piet Mondrian, 1927, The Cleveland Museum of Art
- [Grundbegriffe der neuen gestaltenden Kunst (Bauhausbücher 6), cover](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Theo_van_Doesburg_Grundbegriffe.jpg): Theo van Doesburg, 1925, Rijksdienst voor het Cultureel Erfgoed (formerly Instituut Collectie Nederland, AB5949; image via Wikimedia Commons)
- [Typography for De Stijl: cover of vol. 5 no. 1 (1922) and advertisement page](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:De_Stijl_typography_by_Theo_van_Doesburg_AB4945.jpg): Theo van Doesburg, 1920–22, Centraal Museum, Utrecht (loan from the Rijksdienst voor het Cultureel Erfgoed; image via Wikimedia Commons)
- [Design for a directory board for the Aubette, Strasbourg](https://www.centrepompidou.fr/fr/ressources/oeuvre/cgj4nG9): Theo van Doesburg, 1927, Musée national d'art moderne, Centre Pompidou, Paris (AM 1987-1095; image via Wikimedia Commons)
- [De Stijl, vol. 1, no. 1 (October 1917), cover](https://sdrc.lib.uiowa.edu/dada/de_stijl/001/001/pages/000cover.htm): Vilmos Huszár (cover composition and masthead); Theo van Doesburg (editor); X. Harms Tiepen, Delft (publisher), 1917, University of Iowa Libraries, International Dada Archive (digital De Stijl)

## Sources

- Hans L. C. Jaffé, De Stijl 1917–1931: The Dutch Contribution to Modern Art (1956)
- Carel Blotkamp et al., De Stijl: The Formative Years, 1917–1922 (MIT Press, 1986)
- Philip B. Meggs & Alston W. Purvis, Meggs' History of Graphic Design

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From Stylogeny (https://stylogeny.com/), an atlas of graphic-design styles by Van Riel Online Services. How it is made: https://stylogeny.com/about/. Cite as: Stylogeny, “De Stijl”, https://stylogeny.com/styles/de-stijl/