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Reconstructions
Reconstructions
In 2010 I conceived the idea to reconstruct the lost Mondrians. This inclination was
brought on by reading of the fate of the 1921 B118 and B119 abstracts:
Composition with Large Yellow Plane and Composition with Large Red Plane.
The Catalogue Raisonné (CR) describes them as 'lost in fire during the acts of war'.
They were both owned by Wim and Tonia Stieltjes and from 1932 on loan to Marlow Moss.
In addition to B118+9, the lost list includes another twenty-two works, the victims of a variety of fates. Here's a breakdown:
- Two lost while in the possession of Marlow Moss - B118, B119 (note that all of Moss's own works were lost during the war, too)
- Three confiscated by the Nazis - B149, B174, B202
- Four others consigned to Hanover and Dresden - B158, B171, B184, B186
- Three other war losses - B93, B94, B242
- One lost in the USA - B177
- One probably recycled by Mondrian - B169
- Nine just lost - B148, B157, B161, B164, B175, B179 (book cover design), B180, B181, B247
- And B245 was burned in São Paulo, but a colour image exists
In detailing the works, I categorise them in the book as:
- Sketches only - B161, B158, B164
- Not needed - B169, B179, B245, B247
- Five easy pieces - B171, B174, B175, B177, B242
- Early Works - B93, B94
- Interpreting colours - B148
- Entartete Kunst - B149, B202
- Corridors of uncertainty - B157, B180, B181, B184, B186
- Marlow Moss - B118+9
There is a summay page showing all the reconstructions here.
Sources
Snap Dragon