De Stijl stands for Dutch for the style. The philosophy was based on functionalism all surface decoration was eliminated and they were only used block colours. The group wanted to find a new aesthetic of art and principles. The movement produced many magazines between the years of 1917-1932 and included a summary of what there intentions and theories were.
De stijl also known, as neoplasticisim was a Dutch artistic movement founded in 1917. They simplified visual compositions to the vertical and horizontal directions and used only primary colours along with black and white.
The Tate article summarizes that this art allows only primary colours and non-colours, only squares and rectangles, only straight and horizontal or vertical lines.
References – http://char.txa.cornell.edu/art/decart/destijl/decstijl.htm
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