• De Stijl proposed ultimate simplicity
• and abstraction,
• both in architecture and painting,
• by using only straight horizontal and vertical lines
• and rectangular forms.
• Furthermore, their formal vocabulary

• was limited to the primary colours,
• red, yellow, and blue,
• and the three primary values,
• black, white, and grey.
• The works avoided symmetry
• and attained aesthetic balance

• by the use of opposition.
• This element of the movement
• embodies the second meaning of stijl:
• “a post, jamb or support”;
• this is best exemplified
• by the construction of crossing joints,
• most commonly seen in carpentry.