Tree of Knowledge, No. 1 - Hilma af Klint
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Description
A spiritual and diagrammatic work by Hilma af Klint, exploring cosmic evolution through organic forms and symbolic geometry.
Tree of Knowledge, No. 1 is a work from the series created by Hilma af Klint between 1913 and 1915. This composition belongs to a larger body of work produced under the influence of spiritualist practices, which the artist pursued alongside her formal training at the Royal Swedish Academy of Fine Arts. The image functions as a diagrammatic representation of cosmic and spiritual evolution, utilising a vocabulary of organic forms, geometric paths, and symbolic motifs.
The central structure resembles a tree, with its trunk and branches acting as conduits for energy. At the base, a heart-shaped form serves as the origin point, from which lines extend into a symmetrical, petal-like arrangement. The upper section of the tree expands into a canopy filled with cellular structures and small, wing-like shapes. A chalice-like form sits at the apex, suggesting a point of spiritual attainment or enlightenment. The palette consists of muted earth tones, soft pinks, and blues, punctuated by the gold of the upper vessel.
Af Klint developed a unique visual language to map the unseen forces of the universe. Her approach combines scientific observation with metaphysical inquiry. The lines are precise, indicating a methodical process of construction. The work avoids traditional perspective, opting instead for a flat, symbolic arrangement that prioritises clarity of thought over physical representation. This piece reflects the artist's desire to visualise the unity of the material and spiritual realms. It remains a primary example of early twentieth-century abstraction, created outside the mainstream movements of the period.
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Museum-grade giclée on FSC-certified archival matte paper, with framed and canvas options.
- Paper sizes: A4, A3, A2, A1, A0 and B2 (50×70 cm)
- Canvas: XS (20×30 cm) to Large (60×90 cm)
- Frames: black, natural wood, dark wood or white
Tree of Knowledge, No. 1 - Hilma af Klint
Artist Biography
Hilma Af Klint
She was born in 1862 into a naval family in Stockholm. She showed early ability in both mathematics and botany, studied at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts, graduated with honours in 1887, and established herself as a conventional painter of landscapes and portraits. She also worked as a scientific illustrator, producing botanical drawings of fungi for a book that was never published. In 1919 and 1920 she drew flowers almost daily, creating jewel-toned watercolours with the precision of a naturalist who knew when each species bloomed.
The abstract work came from a different source. She attended her first seance at seventeen. In 1896 she formed a group called De Fem (The Five) with four other women: Anna Cassel, Cornelia Cederberg, Sigrid Hedman, and Mathilda Nilsson. They contacted what they believed to be spirit guides from another dimension and kept meticulous notes. In 1906, aged forty-four, she received instructions during a seance to create paintings for a Temple. She never understood where or what this Temple was, but she began.
The Paintings for the Temple series, 193 works made between 1906 and 1915, includes compositions that are completely abstract. She used a systematic colour symbolism: blue for femininity or spirituality, yellow for masculinity or intellect. Spirals, circles, and intersecting lines represented spiritual forces or natural processes. Where Kandinsky's abstraction looked inward to the artist's own psychology, af Klint believed astral spirits were working through her hands.
She died in 1944. The embargo lifted in 1964, but the work was not shown publicly until 1986. In 2018, the Guggenheim mounted Hilma af Klint: Paintings for the Future. It drew over 600,000 visitors, the most attended exhibition in the museum's history. She left behind more than 1,200 paintings and thousands of pages of notes.
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