Composition (The Cow)

Theo van Doesburg’s Composition (The Cow), created circa 1917, exemplifies his engagement with Cubism, an art movement characterized by fragmented forms and multiple perspectives. As a sketch and study, the work likely utilizes pencil on paper, emphasizing line and structure over color. Van Doesburg, a central figure in early 20th-century avant-garde art, translates the title’s subject—a cow—into geometric shapes and planes, abstracting its form through Cubist principles. This piece reflects the artist’s exploration of form and spatial relationships, bridging representational imagery and modernist abstraction.