Hilma af Klint, born in 1862, was a Swedish painter and mystic. Her life and work are shrouded in mystery thanks to the artist herself. In her will, she stated that her work should only be shown 20 years after her death. This has resulted in the first abstract artist being relatively unknown until as recently as 2013.
At an early age, Af Klint showed a deep association with nature which became an inspiration for her work later on in life. The death of her younger sister in 1880 triggered the spiritual dimension of her life to develop, which would pave the way for her work.
She showed an early talent in visual art. She studied at the Academy of Fine Arts after her family moved to Stockholm, where she graduated as a traditional botanical, portrait, and landscape painter. For the remainder of her life, it was this type of work that she presented to the public, while her abstract ‘life’s work’ remained under a veil of secrecy long after her death.
It was during this time that she met Anna Cassel, the first of a future group of women that called themselves ‘The Five’.
‘The Five’ held weekly seances for 10 years and were involved with the occult. Af Klint was the founder of this group as well as their medium for communicating with ‘the other side’.
It was during one of these seances in 1904 that Af Klint was told by an entity that she would be ‘commissioned’ to paint an astral plane and to represent the immortality of man. Two years later, in 1906, after 20 years of being an artist, Hilma Af Klint painted her first series of abstract paintings.
Following this, between 1906 and 1915, 193 paintings were produced – an enormous achievement. This body of work became known as the Paintings for the Temple. Af Klint explained that the paintings were painted ‘through’ her with ‘force’. She claims she had no idea what she was painting while she was painting it, yet she did so with utter surety and no mistakes.
To onlookers, it appeared as though Af Klint was possessed, although realists will argue that it was pure inspiration. Once the Paintings for the Temple were completed, Af Klint’s spiritual guidance for her art ended even though she continued to create abstract art
An interesting note here is that Af Klint’s work developed in parallel to other developments of abstract artists in this era, even though there is no evidence of a connection between these artists.
Af Klint knew how unique her art was. She worked intensely and at length to understand the underlying messages of her paintings – without success. She believed that her work would influence the consciousness of people in general and society as a whole.
She received orders from her spiritual leaders during her seances to not show this work to anyone and that it belonged to the future. Only then would it be understood correctly. For this reason, she stated in her will that her work should not be publicly displayed until 20 years after her death.
1. Chaos, Nr. 2
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‘Chaos, Nr. 2’ was created in 1906 by Hilma af Klint in Abstract Art Style.
2. They Tens Mainstay IV
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‘They tens mainstay IV’ was created in 1907 by Hilma af Klint in Abstract Art style. When Hilma Af Klint began creating abstract paintings in 1906, they were bold, colorful, and untethered.
3. What A Human Being Is
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‘What a Human Being Is’ was created in c.1910 by Hilma af Klint in Symbolism style.
4. The Swan (No. 16)
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‘The Swan (No. 16)’ was created in 1915 by Hilma af Klint in Abstract Art style.
5. Wheat And Wormwood
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‘Wheat and Wormwood’ was created in 1922 by Hilma af Klint in Abstract Art style.
6. The Dove, Nr. 12
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‘The Dove, Nr. 12’ was created in 1915 by Hilma af Klint in Abstract Art style.
7. Altarpiece No. 1, Group X
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This Artwork is one of the Altarpieces, Nos. 1–3 (1915) was made by Hilma af Klint.
8. Svanen
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‘Svanen’ was created in 1914 by Hilma af Klint in Expressionism style.
9. The Ten Largest
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Created in 1907 The Ten Largest was made in sbstract style. Hilma af Klint attributed this series to the exploration of the human life cycle, from childhood and youth to adulthood and old age.
10. Series VII, No. 7d
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Series VII, No. 7d was made in the year 1920 by Hilma af Klint in abstract art style.
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