Evening; Red Tree (1909) by Piet Mondrian Magnet

Avond (Evening): The Red Tree, one of the most important in Mondrian s series on the tree theme, was done in the same year as the Windmill in Sunlight. In its color range and brushwork, and above all in its conception of nature, it shows many points of contact with that other picture. Here too there seems to be a definite influence of Vincent van Gogh's paintings. The painting recalls certain of Vincent's pictures of trees, particularly olive trees and cypresses, in which the brushwork, along with the simplification of color, plays so important a part. But reference to these paintings is not by itself sufficient to explain the origin and character of Avond (Evening): The Red Tree.