Curved canal with farm building at right

This 1902 Mondrian showing a curved canal with a farm building at the right represents a slight compositional departure from his usual straight-ditch subjects, the curve of the canal introducing a gentle spatial dynamism that the straight horizontal compositions do not offer. The farm building at right functions as a strong vertical anchor, balancing the curving horizontal of the water. Such compositional experiments show Mondrian testing the structural possibilities of the Dutch landscape vocabulary before committing to a path of systematic abstraction. The Kunstmuseum Den Haag holds this canvas.

The curved canal leads the eye through the composition to the building at right. Mondrian uses a confident, moderately impasted brushwork that gives the surface vitality without departing from naturalism. The palette is characteristic — grey-greens, muted ochres, pale sky reflected in water.