The city is celebrating ‘100 years of Mondriaan and De Stijl’ and is completely 'Mondrianising'. The Hague is unveiling the largest Mondrian in the world. The painting with the familiar red, yellow and blue surfaces and straight lines is being exhibited on one of the city’s most striking buildings: City Hall. A unique composition, precisely because of the combination of Mondrian’s work and the iconic architecture of architect Richard Meier.

The Hague Municipal Council decided to honour the world renowned artist, as Gemeentemuseum The Hague has no less than 300 of his paintings in its possession. The design was created by artists Madje Vollaers and Pascal Zwart of Studio VZ. Over the next few weeks a number of prominent buildings and locations in The Hague will undergo a Mondrian metamorphosis. This unveiling is the start signal for The Hague’s celebration of the theme year ‘Mondrian to Dutch Design’.

Largest Mondrian collection

Gemeentemuseum The Hague has the world’s largest Mondrian collection. On the occasion of the theme year, for the first time it will present all 300 Mondrian works, which are normally loaned out to international museums, in 1 large retrospective exhibition entitled ‘The Discovery of Mondrian’ (3 June to 24 September). On 11 February His Majesty the King will open the exhibition ‘Piet Mondrian and Bart van der Leck – the invention of a new art’. These are the 2 most important painters in the ‘De Stijl’ art movement, which celebrates its 100th anniversary in 2017. This will also signal the start of a publicity campaign aimed at introducing everybody in the Netherlands to Mondrian’s work.  This exhibition will open to the public on 12 February.

Benno Tempel, Director of Gemeentemuseum The Hague: 'It’s fantastic that The Hague is so connected to Mondrian and his contemporaries in De Stijl. In this way, the city is showing the world that it is a home to international top art – and therefore also to international culture lovers and tourists.'

A festive year

Throughout the year the Netherlands’ only city by the sea will celebrate with exhibitions, dance acts, festivals, lectures, special routes, concerts, a documentary, specially decorated shop windows and merchandise. In short, a festive year that the city hopes will attract many extra visitors from at home and abroad.

Deputy Mayor Karsten Klein (Urban Economy, Care and Ports): 'Mondrian works like an economic multiplier. Mondrian’s worldwide fame attracts huge numbers of visitors, who not only visit the museum but also return for other activities. The Hague is expected to benefit most from this Mondrian Year. Yet another reason for us citizens of The Hague to be proud of our city. The City Dressing will strengthen that feeling.'

Nationwide theme year

Dutch art movement De Stijl was founded 100 years ago this year. To celebrate this centenary large numbers of inspirational events and exhibitions will be held throughout the Netherlands in 2017. The artists who joined the movement at the time wanted to create a totally ‘new art’ that they also hoped would modernise society. Piet Mondrian was the great example of that movement. Contemporary artists such as Hella Jongerius, Maarten Baas, Joris Laarman and Piet Hein Eek are still inspired by the principles of De Stijl today. The theme year came about through a cooperative venture between NBTC and a number of partners. For the full programme, see www.mondriaantotdutchdesign.nl

Source: www.denhaag.nl/en/residents/news-and-events