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[[Ofbyld:Theo van Doesburg in Aubette.jpg|thumb|Theo van Doesburg yn Aubette]]
Theo van Doesburg, [[skûlnamme]] fan Christian Emil Marie Küpper ([[Utert]], [[30 augustus]] [[1883]] – [[Davos]], [[7 maart]] [[1931]]) wie in Nederlânsk keunstner en skriuwer.
Hij was vanaf 1899 actief als [[kunstschilder]] en hield zijn eerste expositie in 1908, schreef vanaf 1912 kunstkritieken, verhalen en toneelstukken in diverse tijdschriften en richtte in 1916 met [[Piet Mondriaan]], [[Vilmos Huszàr]] en [[Bart van der Leck]] een groep op, waar later [[De Stijl]] uit voort zou komen, naar het in 1917 door Van Doesburg opgerichte en door hem zelf geredigeerde tijdschrift. Hij was vanaf 1904 actief als dichter, na 1920 uitsluitend onder [[heteroniem]] '''[[I.K. Bonset]]''' en publiceerde vanaf 1921 een anti-filosofische roman onder pseudoniem '''Aldo Camini'''. Daarnaast hield hij zich bezig met [[typografie]], [[fotografie]], [[film (cinematografie)|film]], [[mode]] en [[muziek]]. Van Doesburg probeerde een wereld te scheppen waarin alle kunsten een meer verheffende, a-politieke en gelijkwaardige plaats ten opzichte van elkaar innemen binnen de [[Nieuwe Beelding]]. Hiervoor zocht hij aansluiting bij de internationale avant-garde. Vlak voor zijn dood vestigde hij zich als [[architect]] in [[Meudon]].
===Jonge jierren===
[[Ofbyld:Stijl130.jpg|1200px|''Principal contributors to De Stijl 1917-1927''.]]
===De Styl===
It was while reviewing an exposition for one of these magazines he wrote for, in 1915 (halfway through his two-year service in the army), that he came in contact with the works of [[Piet Mondrian]], who was eight years older than him, and had by then already gained some attention with his paintings. Van Doesburg saw in these paintings his ideal in painting: a complete abstraction of reality. Soon after the exposition Van Doesburg got in contact with Mondrian, and together with related artists [[Bart van der Leck]], [[Anthony Kok]], [[Vilmos Huszar]] and [[Jacobus Johannes Pieter Oud|J.J.P. Oud]] they founded the magazine ''[[De Stijl]]'' in 1917.
===De Styl oan'e man bringe===
Hoewol't 'De Stijl' út in protte leden bestie, wie Van Doesburg de 'ambassadeur' fan de beweging. Hy makke der reklame foar yn hiel [[Europa]]. Hy ferfarde yn 1922 nei [[Weimar, Germany|Weimar]] om omtinken te krijen fan de foaroanman fan [[Bauhaus]], [[Walter Gropius]], mei it doel de ynfloed fan de beweging te fersprieden.
While Gropius accepted many of the precepts of contemporary art movements he did not feel that Doesburg should become a Bauhaus master. Doesburg then installed himself near to the Bauhaus buildings and started to attract school students interested in the new ideas of [[Constructivism (art)|Constructivism]]. [[Dadaism]], and [[De Stijl]].
===It ôfskied fan Mondriaan===
The friendship between Van Doesburg and Mondrian remained strong in these years, although their primary way of communication was by
letter. In 1923 Van Doesburg moved to [[Parys]] together with his later wife [[Nelly van Doesburg|Nelly van Moorsel]]. Because the two men got to see each other on a much more regular basis the differences in character became apparent: Mondrian was an [[introvert]], while van Doesburg was more flamboyant and [[extravagant]]. During 1924 the two men had disagreements, which eventually led to a (temporary) split in the same year. The exact reason for this split has been a point of contention among art historians; usually the divergent ideas about the directions of the lines in the paintings have been named as the primary reason: Mondrian never accepted diagonals, whereas Doesburg insisted on the diagonal's dynamic aspects, and indeed featured it in his art. Mondrian accepted some concepts of diagonals, such as in his "Lozenge" paintings, where the canvas was rotated 45 degrees, while still maintaining horizontal lines. In recent years, however, this theory gained critique from art historians such as [[Carel Blotkamp]], who cites their different concepts about space and time as the main reason for the split. After the split, Van Doesburg launched a new concept for his art, [[Elementarism]], which was characterized by the diagonal lines and rivaled with Mondrian's [[Neo-Plasticism]].
In 1929 the two men reconciled when they accidentally met in a café in Paris.
Van Doesburg had other activities apart from painting and promoting De Stijl: he made efforts in [[architecture]], designing houses for artists, together with [[Georges Vantongerloo]] and he designed the decoration for the Café Aubette in [[Strasbourg]]. Together with [[El Lissitzky]] and [[Kurt Schwitters]], Van Doesburg pioneered the efforts to an International of Arts in two congresses held in [[Düsseldorf]] and Weimar, in 1922. A geometrically constructed alphabet Van Doesburg designed in 1919 has been revived in digital form as [[Architype Van Doesburg]]. This typeface anticipates similar later experimentation by [[Kurt Schwitters]] in his typeface [[Architype Schwitters]].
===Arsjitektuer, design, en typografy===
[[Image:Bonset zig-zag.jpg|left|120px]]
[[Image:Van doesburg als bonset.jpg|thumb|Van Doesburg's partner [[Nelly van Doesburg|Nelly van Moorsel]] as I.K. Bonset.]]
[[Image:Theo van Doesburg Arithmetic Composition (1930).jpg|thumb|[[Concrete art]]: ''Arithmetic Composition.'' 1929-1930.]]
[[Image:XXII.jpg|thumb|''XXII'' (1922)]]
Van Doesburg had other activities apart from painting and promoting De Stijl: he made efforts in [[architecture]], designing houses for artists, together with [[Georges Vantongerloo]] and he designed the decoration for the Café Aubette in [[Strasbourg]]. Together with [[El Lissitzky]] and [[Kurt Schwitters]], Van Doesburg pioneered the efforts to an International of Arts in two congresses held in [[Düsseldorf]] and Weimar, in 1922. A geometrically constructed alphabet Van Doesburg designed in 1919 has been revived in digital form as [[Architype Van Doesburg]]. This typeface anticipates similar later experimentation by [[Kurt Schwitters]] in his typeface [[Architype Schwitters]].
Van Doesburg also kept a link with [[Dada|DADA]], publishing the magazine ''Mécano'' under the [[heteronym]] of [[I. K. Bonset]] (possibly an anagram of "Ik ben zot", Dutch for "I am foolish"). He also published Dada [[poetry]] under the same name in De Stijl. Under a second pseudonym, [[Aldo Camini]], he published anti-philosophical prose, inspired by the [[Italy|Italian]] representative of [[Metaphysical art]], [[Carlo Carrà]]. In these works of literature, he heavily opposed [[individualism]] (and thus against the movement of the [[Tachtigers]], [[Realism (arts)|realism]], and [[psychological]] thinking. He sought for a collective experience of reality. His conception of intensity had much in common with [[Paul van Ostaijen]]'s conception of "dynamiek". He wanted to strip words of their former meaning, and give them a new meaning and power of expression. By doing this, he tried to ''evoke'' a new reality, instead of describing it.
===Lêste jierren===
Van Doesburg stayed active in art groups such as [[Cercle et Carré]], [[Art Concret]] and [[Abstraction-Création]], which he founded in 1931.
At the end of February 1931 he was forced to move to [[Davos]] in [[Switzerland]] because of his declining health. Van Doesburg did not recuperate: on [[7 March]] [[1931]] he died of a [[myocardial infarction|heart attack]].
After his death Nelly van Doesburg released the last issue of De Stijl as a memorial issue with contributions by old and new members from De Stijl.
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