Hilma af Klint
Encyclopedia
Hilma af Klint was a Swedish
artist
and mystic
whose paintings were amongst the first abstract art
. She belonged to a group called 'The Five' and the paintings or diagrams were a visual representation of complex philosophical ideas.
in Lake Mälaren. In these idylic surroundings Hilma came into contact with nature at an early stage in her life and this deep association with natural forms was to be an inspiration in her work. From her father she adopted an interest in mathematics.
In 1880 her younger sister Hermina died and it was at this time that the spiritual dimension of her life began to develop.
She showed an early ability in visual art and after the family had moved to Stockholm she studied at the Academy of Fine Arts for five years during which time she learned portraiture and landscape painting . Here she met Anna Cassel, the first of the four women with whom she later worked in 'The Five' (de fem), a group of artists who shared her ideas. Her more conventional painting became the source of her financial income while the 'life's work' remained a quite separate practice.
'all the knowledge that is not of the senses, not of the intellect, not of the heart but is the property that exclusively belongs to the deepest aspect of your being...the knowledge of your spirit'.
It is interesting to note that af Klint's work ran parallel to the development of abstract art
by other artists such as Mondrian
, Malevich and Kandinsky
who were, like af Klint, inspired by the Theosophical Movement
founded by Madame Blavatsky
. Af Klint's work can also be seen in the wider context of the modernist
search for new forms in artistic, spiritual, political and scientific systems at the turn of the 19th century.
capable of conceptualising invisible forces both of the inner and outer worlds.
Quite apart from their diagrammatic purpose the paintings have a freshness and a modern aesthetic of tentative line and hastily captured image: a segmented circle, a helix bisected and divided into a spectrum of lightly painted colours.
She continued prolifically to add to the body of work amounting to over 1000 pieces until 1941. She requested that it should not be shown until 20 years after the end of her life.
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
artist
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
and mystic
Mysticism
Mysticism is the knowledge of, and especially the personal experience of, states of consciousness, i.e. levels of being, beyond normal human perception, including experience and even communion with a supreme being.-Classical origins:...
whose paintings were amongst the first abstract art
Abstract art
Abstract art uses a visual language of form, color and line to create a composition which may exist with a degree of independence from visual references in the world. Western art had been, from the Renaissance up to the middle of the 19th century, underpinned by the logic of perspective and an...
. She belonged to a group called 'The Five' and the paintings or diagrams were a visual representation of complex philosophical ideas.
Early life
The fourth child of Captain Victor af Klint, a Swedish naval commander, and Mathilda af Klint (née Sonntag), Hilma af Klint spent summers with her family at their farm Hammora on the island of AdelsöAdelsö
Adelsö is an island in the middle of Lake Mälaren in Sweden, near southern and northern Björkfjärden. The administrative center of the important Viking settlement Birka was situated at Hovgården on Adelsö.-Geography:...
in Lake Mälaren. In these idylic surroundings Hilma came into contact with nature at an early stage in her life and this deep association with natural forms was to be an inspiration in her work. From her father she adopted an interest in mathematics.
In 1880 her younger sister Hermina died and it was at this time that the spiritual dimension of her life began to develop.
She showed an early ability in visual art and after the family had moved to Stockholm she studied at the Academy of Fine Arts for five years during which time she learned portraiture and landscape painting . Here she met Anna Cassel, the first of the four women with whom she later worked in 'The Five' (de fem), a group of artists who shared her ideas. Her more conventional painting became the source of her financial income while the 'life's work' remained a quite separate practice.
Spiritual and Philosophical Ideas
The project on which 'the Five' were engaged involved, in 1892, recording in a book a completely new system of mystical thought in the form of messages from higher spirits. One, Gregor, spoke thus:'all the knowledge that is not of the senses, not of the intellect, not of the heart but is the property that exclusively belongs to the deepest aspect of your being...the knowledge of your spirit'.
It is interesting to note that af Klint's work ran parallel to the development of abstract art
Abstraction
Abstraction is a process by which higher concepts are derived from the usage and classification of literal concepts, first principles, or other methods....
by other artists such as Mondrian
Piet Mondrian
Pieter Cornelis "Piet" Mondriaan, after 1906 Mondrian , was a Dutch painter.He was an important contributor to the De Stijl art movement and group, which was founded by Theo van Doesburg. He evolved a non-representational form which he termed Neo-Plasticism...
, Malevich and Kandinsky
Wassily Kandinsky
Wassily Wassilyevich Kandinsky was an influential Russian painter and art theorist. He is credited with painting the first purely-abstract works. Born in Moscow, Kandinsky spent his childhood in Odessa. He enrolled at the University of Moscow, studying law and economics...
who were, like af Klint, inspired by the Theosophical Movement
Theosophical Society
The Theosophical Society is an organization formed in 1875 to advance the spiritual principles and search for Truth known as Theosophy. The original organization, after splits and realignments has several successors...
founded by Madame Blavatsky
Madame Blavatsky
Helena Petrovna Blavatsky , was a theosophist, writer and traveler. Between 1848 and 1875 Blavatsky had gone around the world three times. In 1875, Blavatsky together with Colonel H. S. Olcott established the Theosophical Society...
. Af Klint's work can also be seen in the wider context of the modernist
Modernism
Modernism, in its broadest definition, is modern thought, character, or practice. More specifically, the term describes the modernist movement, its set of cultural tendencies and array of associated cultural movements, originally arising from wide-scale and far-reaching changes to Western society...
search for new forms in artistic, spiritual, political and scientific systems at the turn of the 19th century.
Work
Through her work with the group 'the Five' af Klint created experimental automatic drawing as early as 1896, leading her towards an inventive geometric visual languageVisual language
A visual language is a system of communication using visual elements. Speech as a means of communication cannot strictly be separated from the whole of human communicative activity which includes the visual and the term 'language' in relation to vision is an extension of its use to describe the...
capable of conceptualising invisible forces both of the inner and outer worlds.
Quite apart from their diagrammatic purpose the paintings have a freshness and a modern aesthetic of tentative line and hastily captured image: a segmented circle, a helix bisected and divided into a spectrum of lightly painted colours.
She continued prolifically to add to the body of work amounting to over 1000 pieces until 1941. She requested that it should not be shown until 20 years after the end of her life.
Exhibitions
- 3 x Abstraction: New Methods of Drawing, The Drawing Center, New York; Santa Monica Museum of Art; Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin, 2005–2006
- An Atom in the Universe, Camden Arts Centre, 2006
- The Alpine Cathedral and The City-Crown, Josiah McElheny. Moderna Muséet, Stockholm, Sweden. Dec. 1 2007 – March 31, 2008 (represented by 14 paintings)
- The Message. The Medium as artist - Das Medium als Künstler Museum in Bochum, Germany. February 16 – April 13, 2008 (represented by 4 paintings)
- Traces du Sacré Centre Pompidou, Paris. May 7 – August 11, 2008. (represented by 7 paintings)
- Hilma af Klint – Une modernité rélévée Centre Culturel Suédois, Paris. April – August 2008 (represented by 59 paintings)
- Traces du Sacré Haus der Kunst, Munich. September 18, 2008 – January 11, 2009
- De geheime schilderijen van Hilma af Klint, Museum voor Moderne Kunst, Arnhem. March 7, 2010 - May 30, 2010
External links
- The Hilma af Klint Foundation
- Article in The Guardian
- The text of the High Masters Paintings illustrated under The Gallery