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Hilma af Klint's The Ten Largest, No. 6, Adulthood, Group IV
Hilma af Klint's The Ten Largest, No. 6, Adulthood, Group IV framed in white
Hilma af Klint's The Ten Largest, No. 6, Adulthood, Group IV framed in black

The Ten Largest, No. 6, Adulthood, Group IV

by Hilma af Klint

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Artist Statement

In the 1890s, Hilma af Klint began meeting regularly with a group of female artists who together became known as “The Five”. The Five practiced various forms of spiritualism, believing they could communicate with a higher consciousness. Af Klint thought herself directed by this otherworldly force to create a group of paintings called The Ten Largest for “The Temple”, an entity never wholly defined or understood. Standing at a colossal 10 feet high and 8 feet wide, each painting in the series represents a different phase of life from early childhood to old age. No. 6 depicts adulthood in full bloom. Botanical and biomorphic forms float in a diagram heavy with symbolism and alive with meditative movement. By the early 1900s, af Klint had developed a distinct spiritual style hallmarked by the interplay of the natural and supernatural. Stylistically unbound to the artistic conventions of the time, No. 6 is one of the first examples of abstract art.

Why We Love It

In No. 6, Adulthood, nested, overlapping, unfurling circular, droplet and shell-like shapes preside over the image. Some feel very independent, others inextricably linked, all of them connected on af Klint's canvas. The black form at center recalls a neopagan Triple Goddess Symbol, maybe meant to reorient the viewer in the larger idea of a life cycle af Klint was exploring. Dashed lines confuse our sense of space, implying the presence of multiple dimensions—seen, unseen and somewhere in between. Invented, spiraling letterforms and unrecognizable words drift across the lower half of the frame like unloosed lines from some mystically familiar but utterly unplaceable poem. All the details are part of af Klint’s visual dialect, one that’s complex and comprehensive, but beautifully inscrutable ... Read more on the blog!

Details

+ Limited-edition, exclusive to 20x200
+ Museum quality: archival inks, 100% cotton rag paper unless noted
+ Handcrafted custom-framing is available

Our quoted dimensions are for the size of paper containing the images, not the printed image itself. We do not alter the aspect ratio, nor do we crop or resize the artists’ originals. All of our prints have a minimum border of .5 inches to allow for framing.

Medium:

Museo Portfolio Rag

Edition Structure:
10"x8" | edition of 10
14"x11" | edition of 250
20"x16" | edition of 50
30"x24" | edition of 10
40"x30" | edition of 5

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Hilma af Klint

Hilma af Klint (1862-1944) was a Swedish artist and spiritualist whose colossal works have become known as some of the first examples of abstract art. With an early interest in visual art, mathematics, and botany, af Klint attended the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Stockholm where she excelled in landscape painting and portraiture. While making a living off commission from these conventional endeavors, af Klint became greatly involved in various forms of spiritualism including Anthroposophy, Theosophy, and Rosicrucianism. In the 1890s, she met four other female artists—together, they would become known as “The Five”. The Five met regularly, believing... Read More
they could communicate with a higher consciousness. These beliefs heavily influenced and even “directed” af Klint’s work. She created her first series of abstract works in 1906, predating other artists such as Kandinsky and Mondrian, who are often regarded as the “pioneers of abstraction”. Soon she began to develop a more intentional and independent expression of her ideas, incorporating biomorphic forms, mathematical proportions, and vibrant hues. Af Klint kept her abstract work hidden from her contemporaries, believing the art world was unready to fully understand it. Stipulating that it remain secret until 20 years after her death, her work was largely unknown until the 1980s. Af Klint painted for a future audience, one willing to embrace a female pioneer in the field and the holistic nature of her work.  
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