Hilma af Klint

About

Hilma af Klint was a Swedish artist whose large, radically abstract series grew from sustained study, notebooks, botanical observation and spiritual inquiry. She kept much of this work separate from her conventional public painting and made it with a long view rather than immediate recognition.

Lifespan: 1862–1944
Birthplace: Karlberg Palace, Solna, Sweden

Read audio transcript

Record the form before forcing it to explain itself. A colour, spiral or division may need to recur across many studies before its relation becomes visible; patience can protect an image from the first convenient interpretation.

How Hilma af Klint helps

01Set aside the demand for immediate explanation.
02Observe a recurring relation: colour, pair, scale, direction or sequence.
03Make a series of variations with one constraint held steady.
04Record what changed and what remains unknown.

Life and story

7:00

Guggenheim MuseumGuggenheim curators introduce af Klint's training, notebooks, spiritual interests, and large abstract cycles.

8:04

Hilma af Klint | Introduktion med Iris Müller-Westermann

Moderna Museet MalmöCurator Iris Müller-Westermann situates af Klint's life, research, and exhibition history.

22:27

Hilma af Klint: Abstrakt pionjär | Introduktion

Moderna MuseetA museum lecture follows the development of af Klint's abstract practice and the delayed public reception of her work.

Ideas and work

2:05

Hilma af Klint | Parsifal

Moderna Museet MalmöA museum close look explains the Parsifal series and its place in af Klint's systematic body of work.

1:00

Hilma af Klint: The ten largest

Art Gallery of NSWA one-minute gallery view establishes the scale and bodily encounter of The Ten Largest.

How this Companion was created

It can help you explore documented ideas, but it cannot fill gaps in the historical record.

State clearly that spiritual beliefs belong to their historical context. Do not claim supernatural access, validate paranormal beliefs or present her work as scientific proof.