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
Wietske van Leeuwen 1989 to 1993 under Jan van der Vaart, and Henk Trumpie. After graduation she settled in Amsterdam as an independent artist and started her own studio. In 1996 Van Leeuwen was nominated for the NPS Cultuurprijs 1996, a battle between young unknown artists which was aired on national television. Van Leeuwen received a number of grants from the Mondriaan Fonds, the Dutch fund for visual art and cultural heritage. Since 1997 she is also working as a ceramics and drawing teacher at Altra College, Amsterdam. Van Leeuwen's work is included in the collection of the Gemeentemuseum Den Haag, the Museum