Squares of primary colors climbing up the walls. It’s a vivid image. We are standing before 60 Parkhill Road in London. Here, a blue plaque commemorates Piet Mondrian.
Piet Mondrian lived here. He was a painter. The Greater London Council erected this Piet Mondrian Blue plaque in 1975. Piet Mondrian was one of the 20th century’s most important artists. He is known for paintings. These paintings feature blocks of primary colors. They are on white backgrounds. Black lines intersect these blocks. People often liken these paintings to modern city grids.
Mondrian moved here in 1938. He came from Paris. He sought to escape the rise of fascism in Europe. This one-bedroom flat became his studio and home.
Barbara Hepworth said the studio looked like his paintings. Squares of primary colors climbed the walls. Ben Nicholson found Mondrian this ground-floor room. It was in a shared house near Hampstead. Nicholson’s studio was below Mondrian’s window.
Nicholson secured sales of Piet Mondrian’s pictures. He sold them to friends and colleagues. Mondrian quickly transformed his new home. He had a trunk with documents. He also brought a suitcase and his gramophone. Mondrian bought drum-shaped stools. He painted them white. He got his landlord to paint the walls white too. There was even a patch of red. He then arranged his canvases around the room. It was like a 3-D version of his paintings.
The effect of entering his room was something special. This was especially true on a foggy Hampstead night. Sadly, no photographs of this space exist.
Mondrian shared the building. Other lodgers included office workers and a police constable. Mondrian preferred his distance. He washed in his room. He cooked on a tiny stove. Mondrian followed the Hay diet. This meant no mixing protein and starches. His London friends teased him. They teased him about his meager ration of carrots and raisins. He viewed it as “scientific dietetics.”
He was impressed by London’s wide streets. Paris seemed like a toy city to him. He liked the residential blocks in Belsize Park and Hampstead. Grand sites like the Tower of London also impressed him. He sent postcards of these places to his brother.
Before you leave 60 Parkhill Road take a moment. Consider Piet Mondrian’s influence. See how a simple plaque marks a place. It was where art and life intertwined.