A Woman Won the Race, But a Man Entered the History Books
At the exhibition of Hilma af Klint (Photo by Kerensa Pickett on Unsplash)
Wassily Kandinsky is often regarded as the pioneer of European abstract art. He claimed to have produced the first abstract painting in 1911, and he wrote to his New York gallerists in 1935, to reassure Jerome Neumann that he had been the first to reach a non-realistic representation in his art. Kandinsky believed that no one else at that time was painting in an abstract style, but how could he make such a statement? He couldn’t possibly know what every other painter was creating in their studio, and contrary to his own beliefs, someone else had already arrived at this destination.
Five years before Kandinsky, a Swedish painter by the name of Hilma af Klint had created her first abstract painting in her Stockholm studio in 1906. Without knowing each other’s existence, the two artists arrived at the same conclusion with their art. Even though Klint had won the race to achieve an abstract painting, it would be Kandinsky whose name was recorded in the history books.
Hilma af Klint was born in Stockholm in 1862. She began her artistic career as an academy-educated painter of naturalistic landscapes and portraits. She had been one of the first generations of women artists permitted to attend the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Stockholm. She completed her studies with honours and set up a studio as a professional artist. Not an easy occupation for anyone at that time, and especially for a woman artist. She had a keen interest in the sciences and painted botanical studies to sustain her art practice. For a time she also worked as a draughtswoman for the veterinary institute.
As well as the sciences, Hilma was interested in spiritualism, and with her group of four other women, they prayed together, read scripture and held séances. They believed they were communicating with spirit guides and through the leading of these ‘High Masters’ Hilma created her art.
af Klint was a member of the Theosophical Society, a religious movement that combines ancient beliefs and occult practices in the pursuit of wisdom and enlightenment. The science of her time had discovered infrared light, X-rays and electromagnetic fields. This new possibility of viewing invisible forces ignited Hilma’s interest in creating art depicting other spiritual realms. She wanted to create from the unseen realm and make it visible.
The Ten Largest, Hilma af Klint, 1907, Public domain (wikiart.org)
Her geometric shapes were inspired by nature, although not purposely depicting references to the physical world. She incorporated circles, lines and spirals, the tiniest forms detailing microbes, to the enormous expanse of the unfolding universe. As her paintings progressed, she included symbols, letters and text, assigning meaning within her visual language.
In 1907, she received a commission from a spirit guide to create a series of paintings, which became known as her Paintings for The Temple (comprising 193 works in multiple series). From this series, The Ten Largest were created. These large paintings of brilliant colour, detail the lifespan of humans, from birth to old age, and humanity’s connections to the universe. af Klint believed she was creating messages to relay to humanity from other spiritual realms.
Completely freed from any recognisable imagery, this entirely abstract style of painting was created years before Kandinsky, Mondrian and even Picasso. Her large scale works were created on the floor, as she moved around the paper, forming her paintings. Similarly, Jackson Pollock painted his artworks on the floor when he created his famous action paintings in 1947; however, af Klint was creating these artworks in 1907. As her body of work developed, Hilma eventually moved away from spirit channelling and her use of Christian iconography and geometric forms increased.
Altarpiece №1 & №2, Hilma af Klint, 1915, Public domain, (wikiart.org)
She was not the only artist to pursue a spiritual expression in her artwork. Kandinsky had been experimenting with the same pursuit and published, ‘Concerning The Spiritual in Art’, outlining the use of geometric shapes for conveying spiritual planes. But while her better known male contemporaries exhibited widely and published manifestos, af Klint kept her paintings mostly private and away from public view.
When I first caught sight of Hilma af Klint’s paintings, I was scrolling Facebook and happened upon a glimpse of her exhibition at the Guggenheim. I was stopped dead in my tracks by the sheer beauty and size of her art, and I couldn’t believe she wasn’t already famous. I hadn’t heard of her, and she wasn’t in the art history books. I had thought Kandinsky was the first abstract artist, and yet af Klint had been painting abstract works years before any of the men from the boys club.
Why did she not exhibit these paintings in her day?
Hilma af Klint believed the world was not yet ready for her art and she even specified, for her paintings to not be shown until 20 years after her death. She believed that people in the future would be better prepared to comprehend her artwork.
Maybe it was the criticism she would receive from her style of painting? There was nobody at that time creating art like she was. Or maybe she was concerned with the backlash from being a woman painter? Perhaps, it was because her paintings were a spiritual devotion and she didn’t want the viewing public criticising her scared art? Whatever the reason, it wasn’t until 1986 that her works began to be seen.
Hilma af Klint was 81 when she died. She left behind 1200 paintings, 125 note and sketchbooks with 26,000 pages. Besides her stating that her artworks were not to be shown immediately, she also stipulated that none of them should ever be sold.
Swan №16 & №17, Hilma af Klint, 1915, Public domain, (wikiart.org)
af Klint did have a plan for eventually exhibiting her paintings, and her notebooks were full of instructions for how the artwork should be shown. She had wanted them hung in a circular space, specifying the exact placement of the paintings and the order of hanging.
Hilma af Klint created beautifully stunning and imaginative paintings of bold colour. She arrived at the place of nonobjective painting years before her established male counterparts. af Klint believed her art held messages for humanity from higher powers in different spiritual realms. This devotion of scared art drove her to create without the pursuit of prestige, fame and wealth. She created a pure form of art that is now inspiring new generations of artists.
I have enjoyed finding her paintings and sharing her story with you.
Keep creating, Cheers Froyle
Froyle Davies
I’ve been a visual artist for over 25 years and now I tell my stories.
Let me inspire you with this beautiful free print, ‘Above the Stormy Waters.’
Cheers Froyle
