Chrysanthemum

Piet Mondrian

Charcoal on paper

Gemeentemuseum Den Haag

This charcoal drawing on paper depicts a single chrysanthemum bloom rendered with close observational attention to the flower's dense, layered petals and drooping leaves. Executed during Mondrian's early figurative period, the work exemplifies his sustained engagement with botanical subjects before his revolutionary turn toward pure abstraction. Mondrian made over 250 flower studies, many of them chrysanthemums, which served both as exercises in understanding formal structure and as saleable works that supported his artistic development. Within Mondrian's broader practice, the chrysanthemum carried additional resonance through his interest in Theosophy, a philosophical tradition in which the flower symbolized the full cycle of growth and decay.