by Tom Gurney
Tom Gurney BSc (Hons) is an art history expert with over 20 years experience
Published on June 19, 2020 / Updated on September 28, 2026
Email: tomgurney1@gmail.com / Phone: +44 7429 011000
About the painting
In Composition (No. 1) Gray-Red, Piet Mondrian lets a small red rectangle carry the only bright colour in a near-square field. Pairs of black vertical and horizontal lines cross above it, while pale white and gray areas spread to either side. The Art Institute of Chicago dates the painting to 1935, records its size as 57.5 × 55.6 cm, and holds it as object 1949.518. RKD catalogues the same work as B255 under the French title Composition (no. I) gris-rouge. The image on this page matches the museum's painting, although the local reproduction includes a surrounding frame.[1][2]
At a glance
The Chicago painting among Mondrian's mid-1930s abstractions
Contents
- What can you see in the painting?
- Why do the double lines matter?
- Is this the same as other numbered compositions?
- How did the painting reach Chicago?
What can you see in the painting?
Start with the crossing lines slightly above the centre. Two close black horizontals pass across almost the entire width of the painted surface. Two close verticals descend from the top, meet that pair and continue toward the bottom. These doubled bands establish a strong intersection, but the work does not repeat the same spacing everywhere. A lower single horizontal cuts across the canvas; to its right, a short vertical drops toward the bottom edge. Together they enclose the red rectangle in the lower middle and a larger, quieter area beside it.
 The Red Tree Piet Mondrian.jpg)
The upper-left area looks cooler and grayer than the pale upper-right field. A second gray plane lies toward the lower right. The remaining light areas are not all identical whites: their different surroundings make some appear broad and open, others narrow and firmly bounded. The museum's image description likewise identifies a gray square at upper left, a gray rectangle and red rectangle below, against a white ground. Such distinctions matter because the title names gray and red, rather than presenting a uniformly white surface with a red accent.[1]
The red strip sits below the lower horizontal and between vertical boundaries. It is small in area but vivid in relation to the surrounding pale colours. Its position also directs attention to the canvas's bottom edge. The red does not float independently: black lines and the outer boundary shape it into a rectangle. Following the vertical pair upward from the red leads the eye back to the crossing bands, so the only strong hue and the densest line intersection are connected by a visible route.
The local image includes a light frame. That border is not one of Mondrian's painted gray fields, and it should not be used to judge the composition's proportions. The museum measures the canvas at just under 58 cm high and 56 cm wide. The artwork itself is almost square, but its internal divisions are far from symmetrical.[1]
Why do the double lines matter?
The close vertical pair creates a narrow white interval between two dark edges. Where it meets the horizontal pair, several lines converge within a small area. This dark crossing commands attention, yet it does not sit at the exact middle of the canvas. The space above it is taller on one side; the area below opens toward the lower left and contracts toward the red at the bottom. The doubled lines therefore do more than make a stronger border. They alter the scale and rhythm of the white and gray planes around them.
Compare the four main fields made by the intersection. The upper left is relatively broad and gray; the upper right is paler; below the horizontal pair, the left field is open, while the right side gains another division. The additional lower horizontal and short right-hand vertical prevent the crossing from becoming a simple four-square diagram. A viewer can move between the paired bars and the single lines, noticing how Mondrian varies their weight and spacing across the surface.
The Art Institute's account of Mondrian's mature practice explains that he developed a visual language of horizontals and verticals with predominantly off-white grounds, black rectilinear lines and smaller blocks of primary colour. In this canvas the principle is visible in a particularly restrained form: red alone supplies the saturated accent, and the grays are essential to the balance. The museum connects Mondrian's abstract language to his involvement with De Stijl from 1917 and the movement's ambition for a universal visual language. That broader account is historical context; it does not dictate one emotion or a hidden story for this specific arrangement.[1]
Watch: Piet Mondrian
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Watch on YouTubeIs this the same as other numbered compositions?
No. The numbered title needs the colour terms and catalogue identity attached to it. RKD calls this Chicago painting Composition (no. I) gris-rouge, dates it 1935, and gives it B255. The museum's English title is Composition (No. 1) Gray-Red. Its signature is recorded at the lower right as “PM 35”. These facts establish this particular canvas rather than any Mondrian work called simply Composition No. 1.[1][2]
The adjacent RKD catalogue entries make the distinction clear. B254 is the separately titled Composition B (No. II) with Red at Tate, and B256 is a blue-and-yellow composition at the Hirshhorn. They share a mid-1930s context but differ in image, title, collection and catalogue number. The site's 1936 Composition in White, Black, and Red is yet another work, the much larger MoMA B269. A colour description without the collection or catalogue number is not enough to exchange facts among them.[2][3]
These comparisons also sharpen what is distinctive here. B255 has a near-square format, close paired lines and a red field at the bottom. The gray planes moderate the contrast between black lines and white ground. The result is less a repeated formula than a precise decision about where each interval will begin and end.
How did the painting reach Chicago?
The Art Institute's provenance says Mondrian sold the painting to Elizabeth Goodspeed in January 1936. It attributes that information to a 1977 conversation with Elizabeth Chapman, formerly Goodspeed, recorded in the museum's curatorial file. The work was given to the Art Institute of Chicago in 1949; its credit line names Mrs. Gilbert W. Chapman. The museum's accession number 1949.518 records the gift, while RKD abbreviates the inventory as 49.518. The painting's 1935 creation date is therefore distinct from the 1936 sale and 1949 museum accession.[1][2]
The museum's exhibition history places the work in an Abstract Art exhibition in Hartford in 1935 and another in Chicago in 1936. That early public record helps locate the canvas in the same period as its dated signature and first known sale. Later exhibitions include the Art Institute's Mondrian: The Process Works in 1970 and the 1995–96 Mondrian retrospective shown in The Hague, Washington and New York. Such dated exhibition records establish past appearances, not permanent display arrangements; the museum's current object page is the place to check gallery location.[1]
Mondrian artworks directory
Frequently asked questions
When did Mondrian paint Composition (No. 1) Gray-Red?
Where is the original painting?
It belongs to the Art Institute of Chicago as object 1949.518. The museum received it as a gift in 1949.[1]
What is its medium and size?
It is oil on canvas, measuring 57.5 × 55.6 cm (22⅝ × 21⅞ in.), according to the museum.[1]
What does the red rectangle represent?
The museum describes Mondrian's abstract visual language rather than identifying the red as a particular object. In this painting, its position and strong colour work with the black lines and gray-white fields to shape the composition.[1]
What does B255 mean?
Discussion
Does the red field or the double-line crossing first hold your attention?
Reader Insights
Follow the paired verticals downward to the red rectangle. Where does your eye stop?
Which gray area most strongly balances the red rectangle?
How does this Chicago B255 canvas differ from Tate B254 and MoMA B269?
Join the Conversation
Share what you notice in this painting below.
References
- Art Institute of Chicago, Composition (No. 1) Gray-Red, collection record 1949.518, object facts, image description, provenance and exhibition history. View source.
- RKD – Netherlands Institute for Art History, digital Mondrian catalogue raisonné, Paris 1935–37, B255 and adjacent B254/B256 records. View source.
- Museum of Modern Art, Composition in White, Black, and Red, 1936, collection record 2.1937; distinct RKD B269. View source.
- Lead image credit. Piet Mondrian, Composition (No. 1) Gray-Red, 1935, oil on canvas, 57.5 × 55.6 cm, RKD B255; Art Institute of Chicago 1949.518.
