Composition 

Theo van Doesburg made this 'Composition', using pencil and gouache on paper. Born in the Netherlands, van Doesburg was a founding member of De Stijl, a movement advocating for pure abstraction and universality through geometric forms. While van Doesburg sought a universal visual language, his work was inevitably shaped by his experiences as a white, European man during a period of immense social upheaval. This piece, with its dark palette and stark lines, evokes the anxieties of the interwar period. The unsettling imagery, like the dripping red mark, hints at a violence lurking beneath the surface. By breaking down forms to their most basic elements, he aimed to create an art that could transcend individual experience. Yet, the starkness of the image also conveys a sense of alienation. It makes me think about what it means to strip away the personal in pursuit of the universal and if that's even possible. Ultimately, this ‘Composition’ reflects the tension between the desire for order and the inescapable reality of a chaotic world.