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@patrickkapty.bsky.social Oct 9, 2026, 7:20 PM

The Swan No 17
oil on Canvas
c. 1915
Hilma af Klint (1862-1944)
Sweden

#art #abstractart #modernart #spiritualart #HilmaAfKlint #Sweden #modernism #symbolism #TheSwan #No17 #c1915 #Sweden #SwedishArt #SwedishModernism #geometricart #earlymodern #brithofmodernism #avantgarde #womenartists #modernism

Born on October 26, 1862, at Karlberg Palace in Solna, Sweden, she was raised in an aristocratic family of naval officers and cartographers. From her upbringing, she inherited a lifelong interest in mathematics, geometry, and botany.
She was among the early generations of women allowed to study at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Stockholm, graduating with honors in 1887.
For years, she maintained a successful, conventional career painting naturalistic landscapes, portraits, and botanical illustrations to achieve financial independence.
Following the tragic death of her 10-year-old sister Hermina, af Klint deeply immersed herself in spiritualism, Theosophy, and Anthroposophy.
In 1896, she co-founded a secretive group of five women artists known as "De Fem" (The Five). They met weekly for séances, prayers, and meditation, practicing automatic writing and drawing to communicate with entities they called the "High Masters".
During a séance in 1904, a spirit guide named Amaliel commissioned af Klint to paint a monumental series on the astral plane.
Between 1906 and 1915, working in radical secrecy, she created The Paintings for the Temple—a breathtaking cycle of 193 abstract works. This monumental feat predated the famous abstract breakthroughs of Wassily Kandinsky, Piet Mondrian, and Kazimir Malevich by several years.
These works were distinct for their massive scale, vibrant colors, biomorphic spirals, and precise geometric shapes. For example, in The Swan series, she heavily utilized dualistic symbolism—black and white representing opposites, yellow for the masculine spirit, and blue for the feminine.

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