Daniel Birnbaum
Hilma af Klint : the paintings for the temple 1906-1915
The Paintings for the Temple is Hilma af Klint s most significant series and consists of 193 works among them the iconic The Ten Largest. The paintings, that according to af Klint, were an assignment from the spirit world, were created outside of the group The Five, together with Anna Cassel and Augusta Gusten Andersson, among others. The series can be understood as af Klint s quest for a fundamental oneness. A oneness that existed when the world was created, but which was then lost, giving way to a world of dualities: good and evil, woman and man, matter and spirit. The different series attempt to unite these opposites, and at the same time they reveal af Klint s many influences from the era she lived through.