Viburnum opulus (Guelder Rose), Melampyrum sylvaticum (Small Cow-Wheat), Myosotis scorpioides (True Forget-Me-Not). Sheet 15 from the portfolio Nature Studies is a meticulous drawing by Swedish artist Hilma af Klint, executed between June 18 and June 20, 1919. This piece is one of 46 sheets comprising the Nature Studies portfolio, a significant body of work created during a pivotal period in Klint's artistic evolution. The drawing employs a sophisticated mixed-media technique, layering watercolor, pencil, ink, and a delicate application of metallic paint on paper, characteristic of the artist’s material experimentation.
Unlike the monumental abstract series for which Klint is perhaps best known, this work represents the artist’s deep and enduring engagement with botanical forms. The specific subjects depicted are detailed renderings of the Guelder Rose (Viburnum opulus), Small Cow-Wheat (Melampyrum sylvaticum), and the True Forget-Me-Not (Myosotis scorpioides). These observational drawings confirm Klint’s foundational training in scientific illustration, a discipline she maintained even after she began pioneering non-objective art driven by her interests in Theosophy and spiritualism. The practice of detailed botanical drawing provided Klint with a structured means of understanding the underlying spiritual laws that she believed governed both the natural world and the cosmos.
The creation of the Nature Studies portfolio in 1919 marks a moment when Klint returned to concentrated observational work, bridging her abstract explorations with tangible reality. This period highlights the importance of the unique Swedish artistic context in the development of early 20th-century European abstraction. As a significant example of her process, the drawing resides within the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art, New York. The legacy of Klint is increasingly recognized globally, and high-quality prints and references to the works are widely available, contributing to the broader understanding of this essential modern artist.
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