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
A small cluster of red gladioli rises against a quiet grey ground in Piet Mondrian's Red Gladioli. The overlapping blooms fill most of the narrow canvas, while pale stems draw down to the bottom edge. This is the work shown on the site's “Gladioli in a Bottle” route, but the Minneapolis Institute of Art titles the pictured painting Red Gladioli. Its official record dates it to circa 1906, gives oil on canvas, 30.5 × 21.6 cm, and identifies it as 91.148.4, a gift of Ruth and Bruce Dayton. RKD lists the same museum number as C110, using the cautious title Gladioli (in a bottle?). The question mark matters: a bottle cannot be confidently identified in this reproduction.[1][2]
At a glance
- ArtistPiet Mondrian (Piet Mondriaan, 1872–1944)
- Museum titleRed Gladioli
- Catalogue titleGladioli (in a bottle?); the site's established route says “Gladioli in a Bottle”
- Datecirca 1906
- MediumOil on canvas
- Canvas dimensions30.5 cm high × 21.6 cm wide
- CollectionMinneapolis Institute of Art; gift of Ruth and Bruce Dayton
- Museum accession91.148.4
- Catalogue numberRKD C110[1][2]
Red Gladioli among Mondrian's flower studies
Contents
- What does the painting show?
- Why did Mondrian paint flowers?
- Is this the same as RKD's Gladioli in a Bottle?
- What do the museum records establish?
What does the painting show?
The composition is tall and narrow. Several bright red blossoms cluster across the middle and upper area. A bloom at the top turns upward; another extends to the right; large overlapping forms gather nearer the centre. Their edges are not crisply drawn petal by petal. Mondrian uses broad red passages with lighter touches to suggest folds, shadows and changing angles of the flowers.
 The Red Tree Piet Mondrian.jpg)
The stems converge toward the bottom of the painting. Light grey, cream and muted green strokes indicate stalks and the spaces between them. Against the cool grey background, the red heads stand forward with unusual force. The background is not empty white; its subtle colour makes the warm flowers appear more saturated. The largest bloom on the right also interrupts the otherwise upward movement, giving the compact study a wider visual reach.
The image does not clearly show a vessel. The stems descend to the lower edge, where a container may be cropped, obscured or simply outside what the photograph makes legible. RKD's parenthesised question mark in Gladioli (in a bottle?) acknowledges uncertainty. The Minneapolis museum's title Red Gladioli names only what can be identified with confidence. The page keeps the old route for continuity while using the museum title for the pictured object.[1][2]
At 30.5 × 21.6 cm, this is a small oil painting. Its scale helps explain the economy of the image: just a few blooms, stems and a nearly uniform background. The museum records a lower-right “P. MONDRIAN” signature and also documents labels and marks on the back of the stretcher. Those object details are more secure than guesses about the room in which the flowers were arranged or the exact variety of gladiolus.[1]
Why did Mondrian paint flowers?
Flower images form a substantial part of Mondrian's work alongside landscapes, trees and later geometric compositions. Kunstmuseum Den Haag's Hilma af Klint & Piet Mondrian: Forms of Life exhibition treats the artists' flower drawings and paintings as meaningful parts of their investigation of nature, rather than as a disposable side activity. It notes that Mondrian often depicted cultivated flowers, including chrysanthemums and amaryllises. Red Gladioli is another example of his close attention to a cultivated bloom.[3]
This early painting does not use the sharply bounded rectangles and primary-colour arrangement associated with Mondrian's mature work. It stays with an observed flower. Yet the strong red mass against a restrained grey field is already a deliberate colour relationship. The vertical format supports the upward growth of the stems, while the horizontal spread of blooms prevents the image from becoming a simple straight line. These are visible compositional choices, not a claim that the artist had already formulated his later theories.
Kunstmuseum's exhibition text also warns against treating Mondrian's flowers as separate from the rest of his practice. They let a viewer see how he selected, simplified and organised natural forms across different periods. Here the forms remain recognisable; the brushwork concentrates on red shapes and the intervals between them. That is enough to make the painting interesting without inventing a symbolic meaning for every petal or assuming it was made for a particular buyer.[3]
Watch: Piet Mondrian
See his studio, the move toward geometric abstraction and the rhythms of his New York paintings.
Piet Mondrian: Abstract Painting as We Know It
Curator Michael White explores the paintings and Mondrian’s studio as an abstract space.
Watch on YouTubeIs this the same as RKD's Gladioli in a Bottle?
No. RKD lists C109, Gladioli in a bottle, separately from C110, Gladioli (in a bottle?). C109 has a broad catalogue date of circa 1908–30 and is associated in the catalogue with the Sidney Janis Gallery in New York. C110 is the circa 1906 Minneapolis painting, accession 91.148.4. The existing site image corresponds to that Minneapolis red-flower composition, not to a separately documented C109 object.[2]
RKD also lists two works titled Gladiolus: C107, a circa 1907–09 work in the Kröller-Müller Museum, and C108, circa 1936, recorded in a private collection. Those are additional distinct catalogue entries. The site's Gladiolus page should therefore be read as a separate object page, with its own image and evidence, rather than as an alternate location for the Minneapolis painting.[2]
The distinction is practical for readers arriving through image search. A phrase such as “gladioli in a bottle” can describe a subject loosely, but it is not an exact object identifier here. Minneapolis 91.148.4 / RKD C110 is the reliable crosswalk for the work pictured on this route. It prevents the 1906 painting's medium, dimensions and gift credit from being attached to C109 or the later C108 gladiolus.
What do the museum records establish?
The Minneapolis Institute of Art's collection data give the title, circa 1906 date, oil-on-canvas medium, 30.5 × 21.6 cm canvas size, 91.148.4 accession number, and Ruth and Bruce Dayton gift credit. Its public record marks the work's rights type Public Domain. RKD independently links its C110 entry to the same accession number. The inherited image is already present and is retained; an image upgrade is optional, not required to establish the identity.[1][2]
Some circulated image descriptions give a different measurement or drop the question mark from the catalogue title. This page follows the museum's current canvas measurement and preserves RKD's uncertainty about the vessel. The museum record can establish collection ownership, but a listed gallery location may change. For anyone planning to see the original, the museum's live collection entry is the appropriate place to check current display information.[1]
Mondrian artworks directory
Frequently asked questions
When did Mondrian paint Red Gladioli?
Where is the original painting?
It belongs to the Minneapolis Institute of Art, accession 91.148.4, a gift of Ruth and Bruce Dayton.[1]
What are its size and medium?
The museum records oil on canvas and a canvas measuring 30.5 cm high by 21.6 cm wide.[1]
Is there definitely a bottle in the picture?
Is it the same as C109 Gladioli in a Bottle?
No. RKD lists C109 and the pictured Minneapolis C110 as separate works. Their catalogue titles are similar, but C110 is tied to accession 91.148.4.[2]
Discussion
Which red gladiolus bloom first catches your eye?
Reader Insights
Follow the pale stems down from the flowers. Where do they disappear?
Which grey interval most strongly changes the red petals?
Why should C110 be kept separate from RKD C109 Gladioli in a bottle?
Join the Conversation
Share what you notice in this painting below.
References
- Minneapolis Institute of Art, official collection data for Red Gladioli, c. 1906, oil on canvas, accession 91.148.4, with dimensions, signature, Dayton gift and public-domain rights type. View source.
- RKD – Netherlands Institute for Art History, digital Mondrian catalogue, “Gladioli (C107–C110),” distinguishing C109 from the Minneapolis C110 and recording C110's parenthesised title and date. View source.
- Kunstmuseum Den Haag, Hilma af Klint & Piet Mondrian: Forms of Life, exhibition account discussing Mondrian's cultivated flower subjects within his broader investigation of nature. View source.
- Lead image credit. Piet Mondrian, Red Gladioli, c. 1906, oil on canvas, 30.5 × 21.6 cm, RKD C110; Minneapolis Institute of Art 91.148.4, gift of Ruth and Bruce Dayton.
