Mondrian Moves to Paris

In 1911, Mondrian moved to Paris and changed his name (dropping an 'a' from Mondriaan) to emphasize his departure from the Netherlands.

From this point on, he signed his work as "Mondrian". While in Paris, the influence of the style Cubism of Picasso and Braque appeared almost immediately in Mondrian's work. Paintings such as The Sea (1912) and his various studies of trees from that year still contain a measure of representation, but they are increasingly dominated by the geometric shapes and interlocking planes commonly found in Cubism. However, while Mondrian was eager to absorb the Cubist influence into his work, it seems clear that he saw Cubism as port of call on his artistic journey, rather than as a destination.

n 1909 and 1910 Mondrian experimented with symbolism and cubism. It was after visiting an exhibition of Braque and Picasso (the two founders of Cubism) that Mondrian decided to move to Paris, the heart of visual arts.

Soon after his arrival in Paris, Mondrian reached international fame with exhibitions in Paris and Berlin. Mondrian didn't make a living by selling his own work, but instead he sold works he copied at The Louvre. In Paris he first started developing his own abstract style.