Piet Mondrian, Tree Study

Moving between his studio in Paris and drawing in the open air in Holland, Mondrian’s studies of trees helped him explore the expression of formal relationships. Rather than creating an explicitly descriptive drawing, Mondrian uses a schematic line to illustrate the relationship between the tree’s boughs, as well as the rhythm of solid and void. On the cusp between figuration and abstraction, the horizontals and verticals of the grid that would characterize his later abstract style begin to manifest themselves, while still being anchored in observational drawing from nature.