2491) Pieter Cornelis Mondriaan (or "Piet Mondrian") 07.03.1872 – 01.02.1944), Netherlands: The Royal Dutch Mint (RDM) has issued Gold Proof (10 Euro), Silver Proof (5 Euro) and Silver plated Brilliant Uncirculated & Uncirculated Coins to commemorate the milestone: Date of Coins issue: 02.09.2022:
In 2022, it is 150 years ago that Piet Mondrian was born.
The Header/Banner shows the Obverse and Reverse of the Goold and Silver Coins against a background representation of Piet Mondriaan's Artwork
The Royal Dutch Mint (RDM) has released new gold and silver Proof coins which mark the 150th Anniversary (1872-2022) of the birth of one of the art world’s most influential artists in the genre of Impressionism and art theoretician.
About Pieter Cornelis Mondriaan (or "Piet Mondrian") 07.03.1872 – 01.02.1944):
He was a Dutch painter and art theoretician who is regarded as one of the greatest artists of the 20th century.
He is known for being one of the pioneers of 20th-century abstract art, as he changed his artistic direction from figurative painting to an increasingly abstract style, until he reached a point where his artistic vocabulary was reduced to simple geometric elements.
Mondrian's art was highly utopian and was concerned with a search for universal values and aesthetics.
Piet Mondriaan was born on 07.03.1872 in Amersfoort and grew up in a strict Calvinistic family. His father is a teacher and did not want him to be an artist.
Mondriaan started his education to be a drawing teacher, but he never let go of his only dream - being an artist.
When he was 18 years old, he organised an exhibition of his own work.
In the beginning of his career, Mondriaan usually painted portraits and landscapes.
Around his thirties, he started to develop an interest in theosophy - this is a discipline that searches for the common core of science, philosophy and religion.
This is when Mondriaan’s interest for geometric shapes evolved - he saw them as the base of everything, despite the fact they do not show as such in nature.
Mondriaan’s art slowly moved towards the abstract. His search for harmony and ‘absolute’ beauty by compositions of primary colours, horizontal and vertical lines and even colour areas eventually became his breakthrough and made Piet Mondriaan a true pioneer of abstract art.
He proclaimed in 1914: "Art is higher than reality and has no direct relation to reality. To approach the spiritual in art, one will make as little use as possible of reality, because reality is opposed to the spiritual. We find ourselves in the presence of an abstract art. Art should be above reality, otherwise it would have no value for man." His art, however, always remained rooted in nature.
He was a contributor to the "De Stijl Art Movement" and Group, which he co-founded with Theo van Doesburg.
He evolved a non-representational form which he termed Neoplasticism.
This was the new 'Pure Plastic Art' which he believed was necessary in order to create 'universal beauty'.
To express this, Mondrian eventually decided to limit his formal vocabulary to the three primary colours (red, blue and yellow), the three primary values (black, white and gray) and the two primary directions (horizontal and vertical).
Mondrian's arrival in Paris from the Netherlands in 1911 marked the beginning of a period of profound change. He encountered experiments in Cubism and with the intent of integrating himself within the Parisian avant-garde removed an 'a' from the Dutch spelling of his name ("Mondriaan").
Mondrian's work had an enormous influence on 20th Century Art, influencing not only the course of abstract painting and numerous major styles and Art Movements (for example - "Colour Field painting", "Abstract Expressionism" and "Minimalism"), but also fields outside the domain of painting, such as design, architecture and fashion.
"Mondrian" has come to mean "Modernism". His name and his work sum up the High Modernist ideal. He has become totemic – a totem for everything Modernism set out to be.
He has been described as "the world’s greatest abstract geometrist".
The Commemorative Coins:
The gold and silver coins are designed by Marjolein Rothman, who has dwelt on the elementary translation of Mondrian’s unique vision.
Horizontal and vertical lines are the basic principle in his work and thus, are used as the starting point of the reverse side.
The Reverse design of the Coins highlights horizontal and vertical text with the vertical line displaying the denomination as 10 EURO (gold) or 5 EURO (silver), along with the year of issue "2022".
The horizontal text, which is smaller than the vertical text, includes "1872 PIET MONDRIAAN".
Each text display is underlined, emphasising the style of art Mondriaan was associated with.
The Reverse design of the Coins also has a horizontal and vertical movement.
The two lines on the fond cross on the bottom. The text follows these lines.
In one direction the year "1872" is displayed (the birth year of Mondriaan).
In the other direction the year "2022" is displayed, the year of 150th year Anniversary of Piet Mondriaan's birth.
The horizontal line is thicker, to give more meaning to the composition and the name Piet Mondriaan which is displayed above.
The Obverse design of the Coins features a linear outline of the profile of King Willem-Alexander. On the left side is the text "KONING DER NEDERLANDEN" ("King of Netherlands") in a vertical direction. Below the King’s profile is his name "WILLEM-ALEXANDER" in a horizontal direction. Further left are the mintmark and the privy mark.
On the left side the text "King of the Netherlands" is written from top to bottom.
On the bottom one can find the text "Willem-Alexander".
The two lines with text cross each other - this is a reference to Mondriaan’s work. On the left side of this face is placed the mint mark and the privy mark.
The Coin has been minted in several Variants - Silver plated, Silver and Gold:
i) The specifications of the 10 Euro Gold Coin variant are:
Country of issue: The Netherlands; Year of Coin issue: 02.09.2022; Denomination: 10 Euro; Coin Theme: Piet Mondriaan - 150th Anniversary of his Birth (1872-2022)"; Metal Composition: .900 Fineness Gold (Au); Coin Quality: Proof; Diameter/Size: 22.50 mm; Weight: 6.72 grams; Edge: Serrated; Mint: Royal Dutch Mint (RDM); Mintage: 800 pieces; Designer: Marjolein Rothman.
- The €10 Gold Proof Quality Coin is encapsulated and presented in a custom wood-branded Royal Dutch Mint case, along with a numbered Certificate of Authenticity (COA).
ii) The specifications of the 5 Euro Silver Coin variant are:
Country of issue: The Netherlands; Year of Coin issue: 02.09.2022; Denomination: 5 Euro; Coin Theme: Piet Mondriaan - 150th Anniversary of his Birth (1872-2022)"; Metal Composition: .925 Fineness Silver (Ag); Diameter/Size: 33.00 mm; Weight: 15.50 grams; Coin Quality: Proof; Mint: Royal Dutch Mint (RDM); Mintage: 4,000 pieces; Designer: Marjolein Rothman.
The Silver Proof coin is presented in a colourful folder and includes images of the signing of the treaty and the specifications of the coin.
iii) The specifications of the 5 Euro Silver Plated Coin variant are:
Country of issue: The Netherlands; Year of Coin issue: 02.09.2022; Denomination: 5 Euro; Coin Theme: Piet Mondriaan - 150th Anniversary of his Birth (1872-2022)"; Metal Composition: Silver Plated; Diameter/Size: 29.00 mm; Weight: 10.50 grams; Coin Quality: Brilliant Uncirculated (BU); Mint: Royal Dutch Mint (RDM); Mintage: 12,500 pieces; Designer: Marjolein Rothman.
iv) The specifications of the 5 Euro Silver Plated Uncirculated Coin variant are:
Country of issue: The Netherlands; Year of Coin issue: 02.09.2022; Denomination: 5 Euro; Coin Theme: Piet Mondriaan - 150th Anniversary of his Birth (1872-2022)"; Metal Composition: Silver Plated; Diameter/Size: 29.00 mm; Weight: 10.50 grams; Coin Quality: Uncirculated (U); Mint: Royal Dutch Mint (RDM); Mintage: 50,000 pieces; Designer: Marjolein Rothman.
- Both the Uncirculated and Brilliant Uncirculated €5 coins are sealed in a coin-card format.
- All coins are available to order from the 2nd September, with dispatch commencing on the 28th September.
Links:
The undernoted two links will take you to our blog "Footloose" for two interesting posts written by me on the Dutch presence in Sadras in the 17th Century AD:
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6) 100 Years of Nature & Environment Protection, Luxembourg: Commemorating the Centenary Anniversary of the "Letzebuerger Natur a Vulleschutsliga a.s.b.l. (Luxembourg Nature and Bird Protection Society):A 0.80 Euro Stamp issued by Luxembourg Postes (Post): Date of stamp issue: 10.03.2020
7) Celebrating 25 Years of listing on UNESCO World Heritage Sites, Luxembourg: A Commemorative Stamp of 0.80 Euro issued by Luxembourg Postes (Post): Stamp issue date: 10.03.2020
Posts on Finland on this Blog:
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16) Ancient Postal Routes - the Postal Boat Race - between Aland and Sweden", Aland, Finland: A EUROPA Postage Stamp of 2.00 Euro issued by Aland Post: Date of Stamp issue: 08.05.2020
For interesting posts from the Caribbean Netherlands on this blog:
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10) First Atlases, Netherlands: Commemorating 450 Years of the first Atlas (1570-2020) & others: A Stamp Sheet of six stamps depicting the Atlases which were compiled in the Netherlands in the 16th & 17th Centuries AD: Stamp Set issued by POstNL: Date of Stamp Set issue: 23.03.2020
12) 75th Anniversary of the United Nations Organisation (UNO), The Netherlands: A Coin-card set of three denominations of 0.50 Euros, 0.20 Euros and 0.05 Euros minted by the Royal Dutch Mint to celebrate the milestone: Year of Coin-card issue: 2020
Santosh Khanna has commented:
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