Hilma af Klint: What Stands Behind the Flowers

A close look at a portfolio of forty-six botanical drawings by Hilma af Klint, and the abstract diagrams the artist developed to express the interconnectedness of the natural and spiritual realms.

“I have shown,” wrote the Swedish artist Hilma af Klint, “that there is a connection between the plant world and the world of the soul.” Her Nature Studies portfolio (1919–20), recently acquired by The Museum of Modern Art, New York, comprises 46 sheets of exquisitely rendered botanical drawings. Documenting each plant's particular qualities along with Latin names, Swedish common names, and dates of observation, af Klint follows the typical format of a botanical reference book, known as a Flora; however, hers is a Flora of the spirit, a mapping of the natural world in spiritual terms that would stand alongside any scientific resource. Carefully drawn and vividly colored plants, flowers, and lichen are juxtaposed with geometric forms: a blooming sunflower is echoed by three nested circles, a central dot, a solid red line, a ring of points; a white narcissus is set against a pinwheel of softened primary hues; a cluster of budding branches is accompanied by checkerboard boxes of dots and stroke.

Published in conjunction with the first exhibition of the rare portfolio, Hilma af Klint: What Stands Behind the Flowers presents the 46 botanical drawings alongside contextualizing works, as well as translations of her notes and previously unpublished texts from her own journals. An overview essay by curator Jodi Hauptman examines af Klint’s strong connection to the natural and spiritual realms; texts by Ewa Lajer-Burcharth, Lena Struwe, and Laura Neufeld unpack the inspiration, imagery, and beliefs behind these drawings.

About the Author

Jodi Hauptman is The Richard Roth Senior Curator in the Department of Drawings and Prints at The Museum of Modern Art, New York.

Ewa Lajer-Burcharth is the William Dorr Boardman Professor of Fine Arts in the Department of History of Art and Architecture at Harvard University.

Laura Neufeld is Associate Paper Conservator in the David Booth Conservation Department at MoMA.

Lena Struwe is the director of the Chrysler Herbarium and professor at the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences at Rutgers University.