In Fall 2004, I had the good fortune of seeing an exhibition of Piet Mondrian's oil on canvas at Atlanta's High Museum.

The Dutch painter was born Pieter Cornelis Mondriaan (1872-1944) on this day at Amersfoort in central Netherlands.

At first a talented landscape artist, Mondrian moved to Paris in 1912. Finding Picasso's cubism fascinating, Mondrian further pursued the secrets found in geometric shapes and representational art.

He once said, "Intellect confuses intuition."

Inspired by Bart van der Leck's use of primary colors, in 1919 Mondrian created his renowned Neoplastic style--the remarkable grid-based paintings. With purity and passion he sought "to express general beauty with the utmost awareness."

"The emotion of beauty is always obscured by the appearance of the object. Therefore the object must be eliminated from the picture," he said.

Escaping the Nazis in 1939, he lived in England then the United States, painting out of what he called "inner necessity."

Mondrian let his art find life's truth. His simple, strong lines and use of primary colors captured the essence of perfect balance. He allowed the color and line to speak for themselves.

His deep spirituality radiated through the geometrical abstraction. "Spirit," he said, "is more easily approached by means of (abstract) form which is closer to Spirit."

A glimpse of infinity in Compositions of Red, Blue, and Yellow...

"Art is not made for anybody and is, at the same time, for everybody," he said

Let the spirit work through you.