Composition with Red Blue and Yellow working relationship, they were contacted by Theo van Doesburg, a painter who frequently wrote about art for different periodicals and whom is considered the propagandist of the De Stijl movement. He invited Mondrian and van der Leck to join his initiative to start an artistic review periodical. They agreed and the result of this was the journal entitled De Stijl. Together they formed an artistic collective that consisted not only of painters but also architects; the movement was confined to strictly Dutch areas due to war. These artists cannot be considered the same. For example, not all De Stijl artists
Nelly van Doesburg parents did not appreciate the association with Van Doesburg, who was not only Protestant, but also married. She ran away from home around the turn of the year from 1920-1921 and was received in Leiden by J.J.P. Oud and Van Doesburg's wife Lena Milius. During her relationship with Van Doesburg she was introduced to the world of modern art. Van Doesburg took her on a lecture tour through Europe in March 1921, during which they also visited Piet Mondriaan in Paris. From April 1921 she lived with Van Doesburg in Weimar. In December she spent a few weeks in Vienna