Hilma af Klint is regarded as one of the great pioneers of abstraction, who has only been properly recognized in recent years. Less well known are her artistic beginnings, which were devoted to an intensive study of nature. In the spring and summer months of 1919 and 1920, when she was already creating her now celebrated abstract paintings, she drew flowers almost every day: "I will try to capture the flowers of the earth," she noted. The recently discovered portfolio of 46 large scale watercolors, which is made available here as a facsimile edition, reveals the uniquely individual approach of the exceptional Swedish artist: colorful watercolors convey the pulsating power of nature. At the same time, and different from botanical conventions of representation, they juxtapose the delicate blossoms with precisely drawn diagrams. Realism and fiction, scrutiny and vision come together. In the interplay of organic forms and abstract structures, the portfolio thus refers to the overarching spiritual, cosmological dimension of Hilma af Klint's work.

Hilma af Klint (1862-1944) studied painting at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Stockholm. She turned to abstraction in the course of her profound exploration of spirituality and theosophy. She is considered a pioneer of painterly abstraction.