Bart van der Leck was one of the original founders of "De Stijl" ("The Style"), together with Piet Mondriaan and Theo van Doesburg.

Life

Van der Leck had a hard time making a living out of painting. He wasn't famous during his life, much less so than Mondriaan and van Doesburg. Hadn't he had a benefactor or two, he might not have created the oeuvre we now know. Trying to make some money, he taught painting to women who were rich more than talented painters. One of these women, Mrs. Kröller-Müller, took an interest in van der Lecks work. We may doubt if she really saw the genius of his work, but she did buy enough of his work to make him survive, and even providing him relative wealth. The downside of this protection was that, because Mrs. Kröller-Müller bought most of his work, he didn't exhibit very frequently, which in turn prevented him from becoming famous. A lot of his work is still owned by the Rijksmuseum Kröller-Müller on the Hoge Veluwe estate, formerly owned by Mr. and Mrs. Kröller-Müller.

List of Paintings. Horseman The Cat Composition 1918-1920