However, even Af Klint understood that the world wasnt ready for her work.
Ultimately, her groundbreaking artwork remained unseen until 1986.
She believed spirits could communicate with the living and began participating in seances.
Hilma af Klint exhibition at the Guggenheim Museum, 2018 (Photo:Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0)
While making contact with the dead, she took detailed notes and practicing automatic drawing.
Over the next nine years, Af Klint was consumed by this mission.
She completedThe Paintings for the Temple, a large series of 193 works that encompasses several smaller themes.
No. 7, Adulthood, 1907 (Photo:Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain)
Here are five Hilma af Klint paintings and the fascinating meaning behind them.
The series of 26 small canvases illustrate the creation of life and certain dualities the artist was fascinated by.
This painting, titledChaos No.7,depicts the moment sperm meets the egg.
The Swan, No. 1, 1914-15 (Photo:Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain)
Polarity and union are also represented in color.
The artist used blue to represent male, and she used yellow to symbolize female.
When the two hues merge, they create a harmonious green, implying that they have spiritually become one.
Altarpiece, No. 1, 1915 (Photo:Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain)
7, Adulthood, 1907
No.
7, Adulthood, 1907 (Photo:Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain)
No.
7, Adulthoodis part of Af KlintsThe Ten Largestseries.
The collection represents the stages of life, including childhood, youth, maturity, and old age.
They combine botanical elements and recognizable organic objects that reference birth and growth.
The central yellow symbol resembles a flower, while spirals and biomorphic forms are symbols of growth and fertility.
Evolution, No.
12, 1908
TheEvolutionseries, also known as theSeven-Pointed Starseries, explores theories of evolution.
In 1859, Charles Darwin had just published his groundbreaking book titleThe Evolution of the Species.
While Af Klint was creating herEvolutionseries, the topic was widely discussed in society, newspapers, and books.
The artist explored the subject with a sense of spirituality.
12, Af Klint references the biblical tale of creation.
The two figures are being provoked by two large black serpents.
The painting also illustrates swimming sperm and a central female egg.
This signifies that the man and women are in the process of reproduction.
The Swan, No.
1, 1914-15
The Swan, No.
1, 1914-15 (Photo:Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain)
The Swan, No.
The two birds are symbols of femininity (the black swan) and masculinity (the white swan).
Af Klint created another painting within the same series titledThe Swan No.2.
Altarpiece,No.
1, 1915
Altarpiece, No.
1, the artist paints a glowing sun with a pyramid below.
Each one of the hues has symbolic meaning within the Theosophical and Anthroposophical spiritualist theory.
Through this painting, Af Klint illustrates the links between the physical and the spiritual world.
Some theorize that it symbolizes the artists own journey towards enlightenment and the highest spiritual insight.
