Swedish artist, now regarded as predecessor to Kandinsky and Mondrian, died thinking world was not ready for her work
The Swedish artist Hilma af Klint died believing the world was not ready for the mystical paintings that would shock the art world half a century later.
The painter, now credited with pioneering the abstract art movement, did not seek recognition after peers rejected her avant garde works. Instead, she ordered they be hidden for 20 years after her death and never sold.
Now the clairvoyant and mystic, who believed she was directed by higher spirits, is to be given her first solo exhibition in France, more than 80 years after her death.
An exhibition organised by the Grand Palais and the Pompidou Centre will celebrate what is described as her magnum opus, Paintings for the Temple, produced when she was part of a spiritual women’s group that shared utopian visions.
