Hilma af Klint - The Swan Vase

Hilma af Klint (1862-1944) was a visionary Swedish artist, spiritualist and pioneer of abstract art, creating non-representational works years before her contemporaries.

The Swan No. 1 depicts two swans, joined at the beak – one white female with blue face and feet, and one black male with a yellow beak – divided horizontally on contrasting backgrounds. Hilma af Klint’s striking black-and-white composition evokes the yin-yang symbol, portraying the concept of duality – light and dark, life and death, male and female. It is the first in a series of 24 square paintings that explores the attraction of opposites. Viewed in sequence, the series progresses rhythmically from canvas to canvas as the rendering of the swans evolves into abstract forms and color before circling back to the style of the first pair of swans now intertwined, breaking through borders in a close embrace.

Our vase is inspired by this mysterious and beautiful work. 

Hilma af Klint (1862-1944)
The Swan No.
1, 1914-15
Oil on canvas. 150x150 cm
The Moderna Museet, Stockholm, Sweden