Hilma af Klint: The Ten Largest No. 3, Youth (1907)

A vibrant abstract art poster featuring Hilma af Klint’s The Ten Largest, No. 3, Youth from 1907. Spirals, shells, circles and colourful round forms move across a vivid orange background in the first of two monumental paintings devoted to youth.

Printed locally on heavyweight matte paper, as close to you as possible. Typical delivery time: 2–5 business days.

• Abstract artwork by Hilma af Klint
• The third painting in The Ten Largest
• Created in Stockholm in 1907
• Spirals and shells symbolising spiritual development
• Printed on 200 gsm heavyweight matte paper
• Available in four sizes
• Frame not included

Youth captured in movement

No. 3, Youth marks a striking transition within The Ten Largest. The calm blue backgrounds of the Childhood paintings give way to a vivid orange field filled with movement.

Circles and smaller roundels in green, purple, blue, red and yellow spread across the composition. Curving lines connect the forms and give the painting a restless energy suited to its theme of youth and development.

Spirals, shells and spiritual evolution

Spirals and shell-like forms represent spiritual development in Hilma af Klint’s symbolic language. She understood this process as a form of evolution that included human consciousness as well as the physical world.

Egg shapes suggest beginnings and unrealised possibilities. Yellow and blue represent masculine and feminine principles, while pink was connected with Eros, the ancient god associated with love and the creation of the cosmos.

“Youth has a lively orange background and is marked by movement.”

The Ten Largest

Hilma af Klint created the ten monumental paintings during forty intensive days in the autumn of 1907. Each work took approximately four days and was painted in tempera on large sheets of paper mounted on canvas.

The series explores four stages of human life on spiritual and psychological levels. No. 1 and 2 represent Childhood, No. 3 and 4 Youth, No. 5 to 8 Adulthood, and No. 9 and 10 Old Age.

The Ten Largest belongs to The Paintings for the Temple, an extensive body of work that af Klint began in 1906.

About Hilma af Klint

Hilma af Klint was born in Stockholm in 1862. She studied at the Royal Swedish Academy of Fine Arts and initially worked with portraits, landscapes and botanical studies.

Alongside her public artistic career, she developed a private body of abstract and symbolic paintings inspired by spiritualism, theosophy and her study of nature. Her combination of geometric forms, letters and organic imagery appeared several years before abstraction became established in European modern art.

Artwork details

Available sizes

Bold colour and constant movement

The orange background and multicoloured forms give the poster a warm, energetic character. It works particularly well in a living room, dining area, creative workspace or colourful gallery wall.

Discover more works in our collection of Swedish art.

Frequently asked questions

What does No. 3, Youth represent?

The painting explores youth as a period of movement, growth and spiritual development.

What do the spirals and shells symbolise?

They represent spiritual evolution and the development of human consciousness in Hilma af Klint’s symbolic system.

What do the colours mean?

Yellow and blue represent masculine and feminine principles. Hilma af Klint associated pink with Eros and the creative force of love.

Is the artwork part of a larger series?

Yes. It is the third of ten monumental paintings exploring the stages of human life.

How large is the original?

The original artwork measures approximately 328 × 240 cm.

What paper is the poster printed on?

The poster is printed on heavyweight 200 gsm paper with a smooth, non-reflective matte surface.

Is a frame included?

No, the frame is not included.