"No. 57.26 February," Anna Cassel, 1915.
It's not a shock to find out that Cassel (1860-1937) was a close friend and associate of Hilma af Klint, now regarded as the first real abstract artist. Af Klint founded "De Fem," (meaning "The Five,") a spiritualist group that practiced "automatic writing/art", that is, allowing one's hand to be guided by purportedly spiritual/supernatural forces.
Cassel, whose work before De Fem had mostly been unremarkable landscapes, participated in many seances that involved creation of works like this. In fact, notebooks were passed around to the various members of the circle to do their drawings in...this has led to some confusion about who did what work. A forthcoming book about Cassel insists that she did some work that is currently attributed to af Klint.
So, was Cassel really the first Abstract artist? Impossible to say, but I'm glad to find out about her.
It's an enigmatic work, to put it mildly. I've been unable to identify the gold symbols; the one of the left might be the symbol for Aries, but I can't place anything like the one on the right. Ideas?
From a private collection.
#Art #SwedishArt #AnnaCassel #AbstractArt #DeFem #HilmaAfKlint #WomenArtists