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
G. van der Lee Rope Factory father’s footsteps and turned the ropery into a general partnership named G. van der Lee. On 1 July 1919, Cornelis Gijsbertus left the company and G. van der Lee was passed on to his brother Adrianus (1854–1920) and his son Gijsbert (1883–1966). After Adrianus van der Lee’s death on 13 May 1920, a difficult time started for Gijsbert van der Lee. As part owner of the company, he had to share authority with his three brothers Klaas, Jan and Piet, his sister Marretje, his brother-in-law Arie Beijen and his mother Christina Vriesman. Gijsbert van der Lee bought out his family