Piet Mondrian, Composition, 1921, about 20 x 20 inches, oil on canvas
Every time I go to the Met, I ritually visit this little painting -- as though it's calling me from its assigned spot tucked away in a corner of the Modern galleries. It never ceases to amaze and inspire. Perhaps most notable for its lack of white, it also features a brilliant orange and the strange neutral warm gray that both reads as a green and resonates with the orange. In exquisite condition, the surface is so supple with the artist's touch that it almost looks wet. This painting is so pitch perfect that it literally creates its own atmosphere -- and the trademark smudged spaces between the black bars and the edges are ingenious. Image from the Met website
