Pieter Cornelis “Piet” Mondriaan was born on March 7, 1872, grew up to become a primary education teacher and then entered the Academy for Fine Art in Amsterdam.

His early work, consisting largely of landscapes, depict the fields, rivers and windmills of his country in the Dutch Impressionist manner. He subsequently moved to Paris and became influenced by the Cubist style of Picasso and Georges Braque (and dropped the extra “a” in his surname).

Mondrian began producing grid-based paintings in late 1919, and in 1920, the style for which he came to be renowned began to appear.

In 1940, Mondrian moved across the Atlantic to Manhattan. He continued to be prolific and died in 1944, at age 72. (He is buried in Brooklyn).

The Mondrian Cake was created by Caitlin Freeman, pastry chef of San Francisco’s Blue Bottle Coffee and author of Modern Art Desserts, published by Ten Speed Press, April 2013 (the book, of course, includes the recipe).

Here’s a video showing how the cake is made.

It takes time; but when you’re done, the bragging rights are worth it.

MORE ABOUT MODERN ART DESSERTS

Pastry chef Caitlin Freeman took inspiration from the art world to create a book of 27 desserts inspired by the modern greats. Cakes, cookies, drinks, gelées, ice cream, ice pops, and parfaits pay homage to Richard Avedon, Frida Kahlo, Ellsworth Kelly, Jeff Koons, Roy Lichtenstein, Henri Matisse, Cindy Sherman, Wayne Thiebaud and Andy Warhol, among others.

Each recipe and dessert photo is paired with a photo of the original artwork, along with a museum curator’s perspective on the original piece.

For just $16.18 at Amazon.com, it’s a nice gift for dessert lovers who are also art lovers.