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Beach with Five Piers at Domburg
Piet Mondrian (Dutch, 1872–1944)
Dutch
1909
Medium/Technique
Oil on canvas on board
Dimensions
33 × 41.9 cm (13 × 16 1/2 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of Maria and Conrad Janis by and through the Janis Living Trust
Accession Number2023.654
ClassificationsPaintings
Every summer from 1908 to 1915, Mondrian visited Domburg, a coastal resort town on the North Sea and a popular gathering place for artists. During these trips, Mondrian veered from his previously naturalistic style experimenting with a pointillist technique (methodical application of dots or points in French) and vivid color.
Bright, short strokes of blue and purple animate the sandy foreground, while the long piers stretch far into the ocean, mirroring the distant horizon. On the right edge, comprised of green and brown tones, rises a large sand dune.
Bright, short strokes of blue and purple animate the sandy foreground, while the long piers stretch far into the ocean, mirroring the distant horizon. On the right edge, comprised of green and brown tones, rises a large sand dune.
Catalogue Raisonné
Welsh,
RKD:
InscriptionsLower right: monogram PM
ProvenanceMay 30, 1972, anonymous sale, Mak van Waay, Amsterdam, lot 407. Between 1972 and 1976, sold by Crane Kalman Gallery, London to Mrs. E. M. Ashwell, probably Evelyn Muriel Ashwell (b. 1906 - d. 1977), London; June 27, 1977, Ashwell estate and others sale, Sotheby's, London, lot 14. By 1979, Sidney Janis (b. 1896 - d. 1989) and Harriet Janis (b. 1898 - d. 1963), Sidney Janis Gallery, New York; by descent to their son, Conrad Janis (b. 1928 - d. 2022) and Maria Janis (b. 1946 - d. 2021), Los Angeles; 2022, transferred to the Conrad and Maria Janis Living Trust; 2023, gift of Maria and Conrad Janis by and through the Janis Living Trust to the MFA. (Accession Date: June 21, 2023)