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Lesson Plan Image

Mondrian's Shapes and Colors

Children will explore the works of Piet Mondrian and create colorful geometric artwork.

Lesson Plan

Supplies Needed

Gather all the supplies needed to bring your craft ideas to life! From paints and markers to glue and scissors, our crafts section has everything to spark creativity and make every project truly special.

  • Heavy Paper

Steps

  • Step 1

    Piet Mondrian (1872-1944) was a Dutch painter known for his bold use of primary colors plus black and white and geometric shapes. He played a key role in the development of abstract art. Show children some examples of his work such as "Composition A" (1923), "Broadway Boogie Woogie" (1943), and "Trafalgar Square" (1939-1943). Have them note the use of the primary colors: red, yellow, and blue and the arrangement of squares and rectangles.

  • Step 2

    Have children create art in the style of Mondrian. They can draw and color in squares and rectangles on heavy white paper using blue, red, yellow, and black markers and embellish the work by gluing on squares and rectangles cut or torn from blue, red, yellow, and black construction paper.

  • Step 3

    Ask children to present their Mondrian-inspired art and describe the colors, shapes, and patterns they used.

Standards

ARTS: Speculate about processes an artist uses to create a work of art.

ARTS: Generate and conceptualize artistic ideas and work.

MATH: Analyze, compare, create, and compose math ideas using written, oral, and drawn lines, shapes, forms, and patterns.

Adaptations

The streets of New York inspired Mondrian to paint "Broadway Boogie Woogie," and its title reflects his love of boogie-woogie music. Play excerpts of some of this music, a genre of African American blues. Have students dance along to its captivating rhythm.

Go on a primary color scavenger hunt. Form students into small teams and give each a directive. For example, team one has to find two blue items, team two has to find one red item and one yellow item, etc.