Hilma af Klint: What Stands Behind the Flowers

Af Klint's exquisitely rendered botanical portfolio reveals a deep spiritual engagement with the flora of her native Sweden

Across the spring and summer seasons of 1919 and 1920, Swedish artist Hilma af Klint engaged in a period of intense observation of nature, venturing into forests and fields and drawing the flowers she found there. The resulting 46 sheets comprise her Nature Studies portfolio, recently acquired by the Museum of Modern Art, New York. In pencil and jewel-toned watercolor, af Klint juxtaposed exquisitely rendered blossoms with enigmatic diagrams: a blooming sunflower is echoed by nested circles; lily of the valley is joined by a colorful checkerboard; catsfoot is set against a pair of mirrored spirals. Together, these two modes-representational and abstract-demonstrate the artist's belief that close observation of nature reveals "what stands behind the flowers": ineffable aspects of the human character.