M. H. J. Schoenmaekers

Mathieu Hubertus Josephus Schoenmaekers (13 December 1875, Maastricht – 18 December 1944, Laren) was a former Catholic priest, philosopher and theosophist who developed an esoteric philosophy called Christosophy. Active in early 20th-century Dutch intellectual and artistic circles, he was also a theorist of Formative Mathematics, whose ideas on geometry, colour, and polarity influenced Piet Mondrian's art theory of Neoplasticism and the De Stijl movement of Theo van Doesburg.

Personal life

Mathieu Schoenmaekers was the son of Joannes Hubertus Schoenmaekers, a shopkeeper, and Hubertina Elisabeth Antoinetta Eberhard. His mother died after he was born, and so he was raised by his paternal grandparents, who were strict Catholics and convinced him to become a priest.

He married Marie Eugénie Hubertine Dehaime (1880–1908) on 8th September 1904. They had a son. After the death of his first wife, he married Jacomina Jacoba Mallée (1885–1966) on 25 November 1910. They had no children.

In 1905, Schoenmaekers joined the Theosophical Society, where he felt he might find kindred spirits, however he later cancelled his membership. By 1907 he had written several books and was presenting himself as a new spiritual leader. In 1911, he articulated a spiritual philosophy rooted in the Western esoteric and mystical tradition, which he expounded in his book Christosophie, where he developed the concept of Almensch - in contrast to Nietzsche's Übermensch.

From 1911 to 1912, he studied in Meadville Theological School, Pennsylvania, returning to live in Blaricum, Netherlands, and later settling in Laren, Netherlands, in November 1912. There he focussed on becoming a philosopher and writing religious books. After writing The New Worldview in 1915, and Principles of Formative Mathematics in 1916, he succeeded in influencing several avant-garde artists living in Laren. This included Piet Mondrian, who had already developed his theory of "the new visual arts" by 1914, but found Schoenmaekers' ideas in tune with his own. Other artists influenced by Schoenmaekers included: Theo van Doesburg, Bart van der Leck, Karel Albert Schmidt, sculptor Georges Vantongerloo and the composer Jakob van Domselaer. (The New Worldview ) in 1915 and Beginselen der beeldende wiskunde (Principles of Formative Mathematics ) in 1916, both of which influenced Piet Mondrian's art theory of Neoplasticism and the De Stijl group.