History of painting group's theories. Next to van Doesburg, the group's principal members were the painters Piet Mondrian, Vilmos Huszár, and Bart van der Leck, and the architects Gerrit Rietveld, Robert van 't Hoff, and J. J. P. Oud. The artistic philosophy that formed a basis for the group's work is known as "neoplasticism" — the new plastic art (or "Nieuwe Beelding" in Dutch). Proponents of De Stijl sought to express a new utopian ideal of spiritual harmony and order. They advocated pure abstraction and universality by a reduction to the essentials of form and colour; they simplified visual compositions to the vertical
Theo van Wijngaarden Vermeer, akin to his "Girl with a Pearl Earring" and donated by collector Andrew W. Mellon to the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. in 1937. Van Wijngaarden often served as the front man, making the sales deals on van Meegeren's forgeries. Theo van Wijngaarden Theo van Wijngaarden (27 February 1874, Rotterdam – 4 November 1952, Voorburg) was a Dutch art forger. Van Wijngaarden was born in Rotterdam and later lived in The Hague. Associated often with fellow art forger Han van Meegeren, van Wijngaarden was a lesser artist whose legitimate income came largely from restoration, working with cheaply