The Swan No 1 by Swedish artist mystic Hilma af Klint. White swan on a black background touching a black swan on a white background.
The Swan (Nº 1) portrays two flying swans, in a black and white yin/yang mirror image; the birds are united by the touch of a wing and by the meeting of their beaks. In the spirit of ancient Chinese symbolism, the image reveals how seemingly contrary forces are in fact complementary. Nevertheless, there is a sense of antagonism in the work that well expresses that union can be a struggle, especially between humans. Af Klint's signature colors, blue and yellow, are found on the beak and flippers of the creatures to confirm that this is a work about the striving for balance between the sexes. The painting that follows this one in the same series, The Swan , sees the swans thrust together and the color created between them is this time red and not green. The redness encircles the two birds and furthermore, drips like blood from the black, 'female' bird's wing. If red signifies passion and perhaps reproductive force, the suggestion is made that this experience can negatively obliterate female energy. Indeed, more than in other series under the umbrella of Paintings for The Temple there is struggle at work between the swans, the conflict between the heavenly and the underworld, between good and bad, and peace and war; many other paintings that take place in The Swan series depict targets (as in the colored surrounding circles to be aimed at in combat practice). Beyond their renowned strength and protective tendencies, swans are universally deemed ethereal, symbols of transcendence, and a sign of completion in the alchemical tradition - The Art Story Foundation. Group IX/SUW, The Swan, No. 1 (1915) by Hilma af Klint
Size: 4960px × 5003px
Photo credit: © steeve-x-art / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
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