The Mondrian Papers

The complete correspondence and writings of Piet Mondrian in a digital edition

The Mondrian Papers is a large-scale digital edition project by the Huygens Institute in collaboration with the RKD (Netherlands Institute for Art History). The aim of the project is to make the complete correspondence and theoretical texts of Piet Mondrian (1872–1944), in short, all the ‘papers’ of one of the most influential artists of the twentieth century, accessible worldwide to scholars and the general public.

Image: Self-portrait (detail), Piet Mondrian, 1918. Kunstmuseum Den Haag (bequest of Salomon B. Slijper).

The digital edition will be published under the title The Mondrian Papers and will provide access to letters, essays, facsimiles, translations, annotations and an online catalogue raisonné – a complete and scientifically documented overview of all known works by Mondrian, including images, information about technique, dimensions, dating and provenance.

Scientific significance

Mondrian recorded his ideas in approximately 75 theoretical texts, which until now had only been partly published. His extensive correspondence is similarly an indispensable source for research into his artistic development, his theoretical views on abstraction and neoplasticism, his international network and personal life.

For decades, there has been a strong wish within international art history for a complete and reliable publication of these sources. This project fulfils this need in a structured manner.

What will be published?

Within the project, all letters and writings will be presented in their original language and accompanied by a complete English translation. The publication also contains facsimiles of the originals, scholarly annotations (in English) and images of the works of art mentioned.

View the online edition.

As an integral part of the project, Mondrian’s complete oeuvre is also made accessible in the online catalogue raisonné.

Go to the catalogue.

Publication in four parts

The online edition will be published in four parts on the international platform The Mondrian Papers. The first part, containing letters and essays from Mondrian’s Dutch period (1892–1919), was published in 2024. The remaining three parts will be published anytime from 2024 to 2028. This will make a complete chronological and internationally accessible corpus of Mondrian’s texts and correspondence available to researchers and enthusiasts for the first time.

Funding and collaboration

The Kunstmuseum Den Haag is a specialist partner in the project, made possible by grants from the International Music and Arts Foundation, the Gieskes-Strijbis Fund, the Dioraphte Foundation, the Virtutis Opus Foundation, the Culture Fund and the Jaap Harten Fund.

Various exhibitions have been organised in collaboration with the Kunstmuseum Den Haag and RKD. A blog is maintained on the project website.

Role of the Huygens Institute

The Huygens Institute is responsible for the scholarly text edition, the digital infrastructure and online publication. The project is closely aligned with the institute’s expertise in the field of digital editions, letter editions, art and cultural history research data, and sustainable digital publication formats.

Artists’ Letters

The Mondrian Papers are part of the Artists’ Letters project. This project also includes digital editions of the letters of Vincent van Gogh (revised edition) and of Isaac Israëls to Jo van Gogh-Bonger.