Hilma af Klint and Wassily Kandinsky
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An important exploration of the lives and art of Hilma af Klint and Wassily Kandinsky, two pioneers of abstraction at the turn of the twentieth century
The Swedish artist Hilma af Klint is one of the art world’s major rediscoveries of the twenty-first century. While the Russian artist Wassily Kandinsky has famously been credited for creating the first abstract artwork, this designation has been called into question with the resurfacing and renewed study of af Klint’s nonfigurative paintings. In this captivating volume, the af Klint biographer and scholar Julia Voss and the curator and writer Daniel Birnbaum convey in depth the two artists’ nearly parallel development away from figuration and into the liberating, mystical vision of art.
While there is no indication that these artists, who both died in 1944, ever met, this publication presents a dynamic and visual conversation between them. Through this engrossing account of the affinities and divergences between af Klint’s and Kandinsky’s lives and work—supported by more than 100 striking illustrations—we gain a deeper understanding of the forces that shaped their artistic trajectories. By examining the spiritual, sociopolitical, and personal contexts that influenced their practices, this book invites us to witness a pivotal moment in which the art world was forever changed.
The Swedish artist Hilma af Klint is one of the art world’s major rediscoveries of the twenty-first century. While the Russian artist Wassily Kandinsky has famously been credited for creating the first abstract artwork, this designation has been called into question with the resurfacing and renewed study of af Klint’s nonfigurative paintings. In this captivating volume, the af Klint biographer and scholar Julia Voss and the curator and writer Daniel Birnbaum convey in depth the two artists’ nearly parallel development away from figuration and into the liberating, mystical vision of art.
While there is no indication that these artists, who both died in 1944, ever met, this publication presents a dynamic and visual conversation between them. Through this engrossing account of the affinities and divergences between af Klint’s and Kandinsky’s lives and work—supported by more than 100 striking illustrations—we gain a deeper understanding of the forces that shaped their artistic trajectories. By examining the spiritual, sociopolitical, and personal contexts that influenced their practices, this book invites us to witness a pivotal moment in which the art world was forever changed.
Hilma af Klint (1862–1944) is now regarded as a pioneer of abstract art. Though her paintings were rarely seen publicly until 1986, her work from the early twentieth century predates the first purely abstract paintings by Kandinsky, Mondrian, and Malevich. Af Klint was born in Solna, outside Stockholm, and studied at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Stockholm from 1882 to 1888. The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum’s 2018 survey of af Klint’s work was the first major solo exhibition in the United States devoted to the artist, offering an unprecedented opportunity to experience af Klint’s long-underrecognized artistic achievements.
Wassily Kandinsky (1866–1944), the renowned abstract painter, first studied law and economics in his native Russia before committing to making art in his thirties. He moved to Munich, where he cofounded the group Der Blaue Reiter (the Blue Rider) and published his seminal text On the Spiritual in Art in 1911. After the Russian Revolution, Kandinsky became involved in the Bolsheviks’ cultural administration and its committees. However, his spiritual views were at odds with the materialistic ideology of Soviet society, prompting him to return to Germany in 1920. There, he taught at the Bauhaus school of art and architecture from 1922 until its closure by the Nazis in 1933. He then relocated to France, where he spent the remainder of his life working as an artist.
Julia Vossis an art historian, art critic, and curator. She is the author of Hilma af Klint: A Biography (2022), which was short-listed for the Leipzig Book Fair Prize.
Daniel Birnbaum is a writer and curator. He is professor of philosophy at the Städelschule in Frankfurt and the artistic director of Acute Art in London.
Wassily Kandinsky (1866–1944), the renowned abstract painter, first studied law and economics in his native Russia before committing to making art in his thirties. He moved to Munich, where he cofounded the group Der Blaue Reiter (the Blue Rider) and published his seminal text On the Spiritual in Art in 1911. After the Russian Revolution, Kandinsky became involved in the Bolsheviks’ cultural administration and its committees. However, his spiritual views were at odds with the materialistic ideology of Soviet society, prompting him to return to Germany in 1920. There, he taught at the Bauhaus school of art and architecture from 1922 until its closure by the Nazis in 1933. He then relocated to France, where he spent the remainder of his life working as an artist.
Julia Vossis an art historian, art critic, and curator. She is the author of Hilma af Klint: A Biography (2022), which was short-listed for the Leipzig Book Fair Prize.
Daniel Birnbaum is a writer and curator. He is professor of philosophy at the Städelschule in Frankfurt and the artistic director of Acute Art in London.