The Constructivists
The Netherlands were also the home of a strong Constructivist group. Effective and influential in other countries, the group “de Stijl” was founded in 1917. Important members included Piet Mondrian and Theo van Doesburg .
Joost Schmidt: sans serif, 1927
In France, geometrical art found little welcome in the 1920s and some artists, like Mondrian and van Doesburg, worked many years in Paris with little success. Not until 1926 could Sophie and Hans Arp form the “Aubette” in Strasbourg, working with van Doesburg to establish Constructivist principles. Important French Constructivists were Auguste Herbin, André Heurtaux, Marcelle Cahn, Jean Gorin, and Jean Helion. The reason for the lack of interest in France lies in the enthusiasm for Surrealism, whose manifest was published by André Breton in 1924.
L. Moholy-Nagy: Double page illustration from the book “Malerei, Photografie,
Film” (Painting, Photography, Film), 1925
Joost Schmidt: sans serif, 1927
In France, geometrical art found little welcome in the 1920s and some artists, like Mondrian and van Doesburg, worked many years in Paris with little success. Not until 1926 could Sophie and Hans Arp form the “Aubette” in Strasbourg, working with van Doesburg to establish Constructivist principles. Important French Constructivists were Auguste Herbin, André Heurtaux, Marcelle Cahn, Jean Gorin, and Jean Helion. The reason for the lack of interest in France lies in the enthusiasm for Surrealism, whose manifest was published by André Breton in 1924.
L. Moholy-Nagy: Double page illustration from the book “Malerei, Photografie,
Film” (Painting, Photography, Film), 1925
Take a look at a selection of typefaces with an constructivist origin, offered by Linotype:
Linotype
