Piet Mondrian (07/03/1872 - 01/02/1944), born Pieter Cornelis Mondriaan, was a Dutch painter and art theorist who pioneered 20th-century abstract art and co-founded the De Stijl movement. Initially painting naturalistic landscapes, he evolved a distinctive style called Neo-Plasticism, reducing works to grids of vertical and horizontal lines and blocks of primary colours. His compositions like Composition with Red, Blue and Yellow and Broadway Boogie Woogie influenced architecture, design, and fashion worldwide.