The Ten Largest, No. 7, Adulthood
1907
- Dimensions
- 315 × 235 cm
- Medium
- Tempera on paper, mounted on canvas
- Collection
- The Hilma af Klint Foundation, Stockholm
One of Sweden's foremost women artists, she studied at the Royal Academy of Fine…
A quiet departure from traditional art that merely mirrored the visible world. Believing that future generations would come to understand the true worth of the soul, this solitary prophetic work inscribed invisible cosmic energies upon the surface.
✦ Highlights (technique & color)
Rather than oil, quick-drying egg tempera was used. Working on enormous sheets of paper over three meters tall spread across the floor, she painted with swift, unhesitating brushstrokes. Later mounted on canvas, the works retain the luminous colors and crisp texture reminiscent of frescos. Another defining feature is the spiral composition, completely abandoning traditional Western perspective.
✦ The setting of this painting
The setting was af Klint's studio at Hamngatan 5 in central Stockholm. With a popular café and art galleries on the ground floor, the building served as a vibrant cultural hub where traditionalists and modernists engaged in spirited debate. Here, while earning her living by painting conventional landscapes by day, she secretly created these monumental abstract works.
✦ Historical context
The turn of the twentieth century was an era when science began confirming the existence of invisible energies, from X-rays to electromagnetic waves. At the same time, fascination with the spiritual realm, such as Theosophy, was flourishing. Af Klint's abstraction was not an escape into the occult, but a visionary response to cutting-edge science and the unseen dimensions of reality.
A deep violet background.
Vast biomorphic forms in yellow, green, and red float upon it.
Soft curves sweep across the composition.
Shapes evoking botanical seeds and living cells intertwine.
Her work is often spoken of as the occult, unconscious product of an eccentric, self-taught outsider entirely isolated from the art world.
Yet in truth, she was an elite artist.
Stockholm, 1907.
Hilma af Klint, forty-five years old.
She had graduated with distinction from the Royal Swedish Academy of Fine Arts.
Her studio was at Hamngatan 5, right in the center of the city.
On the ground floor were bustling cafés and art galleries.
It was a cultural hub where artists engaged in fierce debates.
There, she worked as an accomplished professional, fulfilling commissions for portraits and landscapes.
Financially, she was firmly independent.
Yet in secret, she embarked on these monumental paintings.
Works far too vast to fit upon an easel.
She spread sheets of paper stretching over three meters directly across the floor.
Her friend Cornelia Cederberg and others assisted her.
Mixing pigments, laying out the paper.
In a whirlwind of creative fervor, she produced ten immense canvases in just forty days.
That is an average of a single painting completed every four days.
This was years before Kandinsky unveiled his first abstract works.
She had anticipated him by several years.
It was an era when cutting-edge science discovered X-rays and electromagnetic waves, progressively proving the existence of an invisible world of energy.
Harnessing her consummate technique and botanical knowledge,
she sought to give visual form to the unseen spirit.
In 1908,
she invited Rudolf Steiner, the leader of Anthroposophy,
to visit her studio.
There, she finally revealed the masterpieces she had kept hidden from the world.
Yet,
Steiner criticized them harshly.
He dismissed her method as too passive, like that of a spirit medium,
and told her that her contemporaries would never understand her work.
About 176 more words
Unlock this story's ending, and every article on MusicStory
- 42
Stories1–2 new every week
An archive of paintings paired with great music, made for a weekend night and a cup of coffee
- 282
Paintings with commentarygrowing daily
From simply looking to truly reading — the brushwork and the obsession of the masters
- 10
Music Librarygrowing daily
Know it first, and what reaches your ear changes — background music becomes art you keep for life
My Notes, unlimited
Every reading adds to a digital art notebook that is yours alone
Already have an account? Log in
Your Note
Write down what this painting made you feel in your art notebook.
Please sign up to write notes.
Sign up for freeRecommended Artworks
Sources & references
More artists
If you find an error in this content, please let us know here
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA, and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.