How did the 1905 Vincent van Gogh exhibition in Amsterdam affect Piet Mondrian’s use of colour?

The 1905 Vincent van Gogh exhibition in Amsterdam was a significant influence on the Dutch Post-Impressionist painters of the time, who adopted his forceful expression and daring use of pure, nonliteral colours.1

While Mondrian’s own work began to shift toward a more pronounced rhythmic structure following his time in Brabant, the bold colour usage popularized by the Van Gogh exhibition directly impacted the Dutch avant-garde circles in which Mondrian moved. This influence encouraged a departure from the subdued hues of traditional Dutch landscape painting. By 1907, this shift was reflected in Mondrian’s own work, such as in his sketch Red Cloud, and it eventually contributed to his adoption of a vibrant, Luminist palette—characterized by primary hues like yellow, red, and blue—seen in works such as Windmill in Sunlight (1908).12