De Stijl (pronounced “duh STYLE”) was an art movement that started in the Netherlands in 1917. The name means “The Style” in Dutch. Artists in this movement believed that art should be simple, pure, and organized, using only straight lines, rectangles, and a few basic colors: red, blue, yellow, black, and white.

The most famous De Stijl artist was Piet Mondrian, whose paintings look like grids of black lines with blocks of primary colors. Instead of painting realistic scenes, De Stijl artists wanted to show what they called “universal harmony” through simple geometric shapes and colors. They thought this pure, clean style could help create a better, more organized world after the chaos of World War I.

De Stijl influenced far more than just painting. Architects designed buildings with flat surfaces and bold color blocks. Furniture designers created chairs and tables using the same principles: straight lines, simple shapes, and primary colors. You can still see De Stijl's influence today in modern design, from the clean lines of contemporary furniture to the bold graphics in video games and websites.

The movement showed that sometimes the most powerful designs come from the simplest elements. By limiting themselves to just a few colors and shapes, De Stijl artists created a distinctive style that still feels fresh and modern more than a century later.