Villa Mondriaan
The childhood home of Piet Mondriaan (1872-1944), where the young artist first explored painting.
Similar studio museums...
- Dick Bruna Studio, The Netherlands - studio of Dick Bruna (1927-2017), a devotee of De Stijl.
- Maison familiale d'Henri Matisse, France - childhood home of Henri Matisse (1869-1954) and scene of his first experiments in paint.
Feature List
- Café
- Temporary exhibitions
- School workshops
A pioneer of twentieth-century abstract art and contributor to the De Stijl movement, Piet Mondriaan lived in this house in Winterswijk from 1880-1892. His father, the Director of the School of Christian National Instruction, chose the villa because of its proximity to the neighbouring school. During this time, the young Mondriaan frequently painted the surrounding area in the company of his uncle, Frits Mondriaan, also an artist. He left in 1892 to train at the Academy for Fine Art in Amsterdam, and in 1911 he moved to Paris, changing his name to 'Mondrian' to emphasise his relationship with the French avant-garde.
The Villa Mondriaan was purchased in 1984 by Jan and Elizabeth Nijhuis, thus saving it from demolition. In 1991, they also bought the former school building, transforming it into an art gallery. The museum opened in its current form in May 2013, as a combination of the former Mondriaan family home, an art gallery, and a modern extension. Today, it displays a number of major long-term loans of Mondriaan's work from the Gemeentemuseum in The Hague, and organises a range of temporary exhibitions and a rich education programme.
