Edward Thielen, age 17, of Springfield, Ill, for his question:

WAS MONDRIAN REALLY A GREAT ARTIST?

Piet Mondrian was a Dutch painter who carried abstraction to its furthest limits.

Through radical simplification of composition and color, he sought to expose the basic principles that underlie all appearances.

Art experts say that Mondrian was one of the most influential 20th century artists. His theories of abstraction and simplification not only altered the course of painting but also exerted a profound influence on architecture, industrial design and the graphic arts.

Born in Amsterdam, in 1872, Mondrian began to experiment with bright colors and a cubist influenced style at an early age.

He maintained that art should not concern itself with reproducing images of real objects but should express only the universal absolutes that underlie reality. He rejected all sensuous qualities of texture, surface and color, reducing his palette to flat primary colors. He believed that a canvas should contain only planar elements. He gave up all curved lines in favor of straight lines and right angles.

The artist moved to New York City in 1940 where his style became freer. He died in 1944.