(Amersfoort 1872–1944 New York) Farm building in Het Gooi, fence and trees in the foreground, signed Piet Mondriaan (scratched into the paint), oil on canvas, relined, 38.2 x 43.4 cm, framed, (PS)

Provenance:
Artist’s estate
Bien de Sitta, Domburg (friend and patron of the artist 1911–1958)
Collection of Kees Maas, Domburg (1958–1985)
Richard Gray Gallery, New York
Private collection, Germany

Literature:
Joop M. Joosten, Robert P. Welsh, Piet Mondrian, Catalogue raisonné of the naturalistic works (until early 1911), vol 1, New York 1998, ill. p. 224, no. A 174

Fax confirmation:
Robert P. Welsh, University of Toronto, October 1967.

During his time at the Rijksakademie in Amsterdam, Piet Mondrian travelled to Het Gooi to paint. This is a region in the south of Ijsselmeer which attracted many artists in the 19th century. In addition to this work, there are another two paintings with very similar subjects dating from the period around 1900. In the representation of the enclosed garden, with trees and low courtyard buildings, Mondrian limited himself mainly to a contrast between red and green. According to Welsh, this work dates to around 1900, and already Mondrian is using the willow fencing and trunks of the trees to create a strong structure of verticals and horizontals. The natural subject matter of the farm garden in Het Gooi demonstrates an almost geometrical strength, and is a precursor to Piet Mondrian’s later radically reduced and consistent image concept.