One must always paint in opposition to nature, and to one's own 'mood'. To let oneself go is a weakness, a sort of hysterics. If you are full of red, choose a green or a blue; if you feel like yellow, choose grey or black. In this continuous opposition lies the entire secret of plastic creation.... To create a great work of art demands self-mortification.


'Elementarism', in De Stijl – Van Doesburg Issue, January 1932, pp. 17-19

Theo van Doesburg Quotes

One must always paint in opposition to nature, and to one's own 'mood'. To let oneself go is a weakness, a sort of hysterics. If you are full of red, ...

One must always paint in opposition to nature, and to one's own 'mood'. To let oneself go is a weakness, a sort of hysterics. If you are full of red, ...

One must always paint in opposition to nature, and to one's own 'mood'. To let oneself go is a weakness, a sort of hysterics. If you are full of red, ...

One must always paint in opposition to nature, and to one's own 'mood'. To let oneself go is a weakness, a sort of hysterics. If you are full of red, ...