Hilma af Klint

Hilma af Klint (1862-1944) grew up surrounded by idyllic nature at her family's manor on a Swedish lake, an environment which fostered a love and fascination for natural forms. She was admitted to the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Stockholm at the age of twenty, and after studying mostly drawing, portraiture, botanical drawing, and landscape painting, she graduated with honors and was granted a studio in the main cultural hub of the city. It was the death of her younger sister in 1880 which first sparked af Klint's interest in Spiritism, a kind of Christian Spiritualism that focused on the soul's ability to reincarnate, and Theosophy, an occult religious movement that revolved around the existence of a secret group of spiritual adepts who are attempting to revive an ancient religion. This interest in the spiritual and the occult led af Klint to form a group of women artists and mediums, "The Five." Through the experiences she had with these women she began to explore world religions, atoms, and the plant world in her paintings.

Portrait of Hilma af Klint, courtesy of the Hilma af Klint Foundation, Stockholm, Sweden