Description
Composition A is a painting by Piet Mondrian from 1920: a dense grid of rectangles in red, blue, yellow, light and dark grey, black and white, divided by thin grey-black lines. The original, oil on canvas, is 91.5 cm high and 92 cm wide, so all but square, and is kept at the Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea in Rome. Our painter paints it by hand in oil on canvas in 8 sizes from 35 x 35 to 180 x 175 cm or made to measure, and before shipping we send you a photo of the finished work.
| Title: | Composition A |
| Other titles: | Composition A: Composition with Black, Red, Gray, Yellow, and Blue · Composizione A |
| Painter: | Piet Mondrian (1872–1944) |
| Year painted: | 1920 |
| Original size: | 91.5 cm x 92 cm (height x width) |
| Original technique: | Oil on canvas |
| Painting style: | Neoplasticism (De Stijl), abstract painting |
| Located at: | Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea, Rome |
| Our reproduction: | Hand-painted oil on canvas, 8 sizes or made to measure |
Composition A – Piet Mondrian
What does Composition A show?
The canvas is divided into a crowd of rectangles of different sizes. Some carry pure red, blue or yellow, others light or dark grey, a few are black and the rest are white. No plane is slanted or curved: every boundary runs horizontally or vertically.
The lines between the planes are thin and grey-black, not the broad, deep black bars of Mondrian’s later canvases. Several coloured planes run right up to the edge of the canvas, so the grid seems to carry on beyond the border.
The eye first comes to rest on a large black rectangle to the right of centre. Along the right edge rises a tall red strip that closes the composition on that side like a column. Smaller blue, yellow and grey fields are spread around them.
What place does Composition A hold in Mondrian’s work?
It is an early Neoplastic work. Neoplasticism is the name of Mondrian’s language, which allows only horizontal and vertical lines and pure colours alongside white. The painting dates from the years when he was still settling his grid of primary colours.
Set it beside Composition (1916), four years older, and you see how quickly he was changing. There, short black strokes and small crosses lie over soft, broken tones of pink, grey and yellow. By 1920 the planes are smooth and closed, the colours clear and full.
Yet Composition A does not have the strict form of the later years. Here the greys weigh almost as much as the red, blue and yellow, and the lines are thin and not quite black. That in-between state is what makes it precious to Mondrian lovers: on one canvas you watch the grid at the moment it takes shape.
The full title lists the colours the work is built from: black, red, grey, yellow and blue.
Why is this grid so appealing?
Most people link Mondrian with a few large colour fields between heavy black bars, the look of the famous Mondrian paintings of later years. Composition A is richer: one canvas holds many more rectangles and more shades, from near-white to full black.
That is why the painting feels lively but never loud. The grey planes calm the strong colours, while the black rectangle and the red strip give the whole its weight on the right.
Because the planes run to the edge, the work does not read as a closed object but as a section cut from a larger grid.
Where is the original?
The original belongs to the Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea in Rome. It is oil on canvas, 91.5 cm high and 92 cm wide.
Height and width differ by only half a centimetre, so the eye reads it as a square. A square has no strong direction, so it sits calmly above a sofa, a bed or a desk.
Composition A or another Mondrian grid?
Composition A is a canvas painting for modern, minimalist and Scandinavian homes and for offices with white or pale grey walls.
If you want fewer planes and more empty space, look at Composition No. II (1929), where a large yellow field fills the upper left and thick black lines divide the white. For an upright format there is Composition with Large Blue Plane of 1921, ruled by a bright blue field at the upper right.
For a large wall and more movement, choose Broadway Boogie Woogie, where the black lines have gone and yellow lines broken into tiny squares carry the grid. The whole range, from early farms and mills to late grids, waits on the Piet Mondrian page.
How does our painter paint your Composition A?
With a grid, precision decides everything. Our painter first measures the proportions of the original and transfers them to the canvas: where each line runs, how wide the red strip is, where the black rectangle begins. If a single field moved by one centimetre, the balance of the whole composition would change.
Next he masks the edges of each plane with tape and lays on the colour in several thin, even coats. The edges stay crisp and the surface flat and free of blotches.
Light and dark grey must stay clearly apart, never drifting towards blue or brown. The thin grey-black lines go in last, drawn with a steady hand and the same width from end to end.
The result is a Mondrian reproduction with a real layer of oil paint that softly catches the light. Unlike a print, this oil painting reproduction has colour with body, and its edges are painted rather than printed.
Which size for which wall?
In short: 90 x 88 or 120 x 115 cm above a sofa, 45 x 45 to 70 x 70 cm for smaller walls, and 140 x 135 or 180 x 175 cm for large empty walls.
There are 8 sizes (width x height): 35 x 35, 45 x 45, 60 x 57, 70 x 70, 90 x 88, 120 x 115, 140 x 135 and 180 x 175 cm. The original measures 92 x 91.5 cm; the closest size is 90 x 88 cm, which is 2 cm narrower and 3.5 cm lower.
The 35 x 35 and 45 x 45 cm sizes suit a shelf, a hallway or a narrow wall beside a door. 60 x 57 and 70 x 70 cm hang well above a chest of drawers, a desk or a bedside table.
As a painting for the living room above a larger sofa, 120 x 115 cm works best. 140 x 135 and 180 x 175 cm are meant for open-plan living areas, dining rooms and offices where the painting should command the whole wall.
Is a custom size or a frame possible?
Yes. If you need a different size we paint Composition A to measure and adjust the proportions of the planes with care. Send us your width and height and we will reply with a price and a lead time.
The painting can arrive rolled, stretched on a stretcher bar or framed. Stretching and framing are done by our workshop in Slovenia. You choose the frame in our 3D app, which is for choosing the frame only; seeing the painting on your own wall is a separate service.
Since the planes run to the edge, the grid suits a slim, plain frame in white, black or natural wood that does not cover too much of the border. It looks just as good without a frame, simply stretched on its bar.
How soon will my painting be ready?
We start painting once your order arrives, and within 15 to 45 working days the painting is ready to ship. Before that we send you a photograph of the finished painting, and anything you would like changed, we change.
Shipping inside Slovenia and across the EU involves no customs, and our returns policy covers every order.
Composition A makes a good gift for a lover of modern art, an architect or someone moving into a new, bright flat. If the person receiving it should pick the size, give a wall art voucher.
Frequently asked questions
Which museum has the original?
The Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea in Rome.
What is the large black field right of centre?
A black rectangle, the heaviest plane in the painting; with the red strip on the right edge it gives the composition its centre of gravity.
Is it a print?
No. Each one is a hand-painted copy in oil on canvas, with crisp edges and even colour.
How big is the original?
It is 91.5 cm high and 92 cm wide. Our closest size is 90 x 88 cm.
Do you paint sizes that are not listed?
Yes, we paint to measure. All we need is the width and height.
How long do I wait for the painting?
From 15 to 45 working days, and a photograph of the finished painting reaches you before we pack it.
Does it suit an office or a modern flat?
Very well. White, grey and the primary colours sit happily with pale walls, metal and wood.
Does Composition A depict anything?
No object. It is built only from horizontal and vertical lines and planes of colour that hold each other in balance.
- Subject: a dense grid of red, blue, yellow, grey, black and white rectangles with thin grey-black lines.
- Original: 1920, oil on canvas, 91.5 x 92 cm (height x width), Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea, Rome.
- Ours: hand-painted in oil on canvas, 8 sizes between 35 x 35 and 180 x 175 cm, or made to measure.
- Worth knowing: several colour planes run to the very edge of the canvas, so a slim frame profile suits it best.
