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13 slide presentations, Dornach, Oct. 8, 1916 - Oct. 29, 1917 (CW 292) "I am going to show you a series of reproductions, of slides, from a period in art history to which the human mind will probably always return to contemplate and consider; for, if we consider history as a reflection of inner spiritual impulses, it is precisely in this evolutionary moment that we see certain human circumstances, ones that are among the deepest and most decisive for the outer course of human history, expressed through a relationship to art." --Rudolf Steiner Rudolf Steiner understood that the history of art is a field in which the evolution of consciousness is symptomatically and transparently revealed. This informal sequence of thirteen lectures was given during the darkest hours of World War I. It was a moment when the negative consequences of what he called the age of the consciousness soul, which began around 1417, were made most terribly apparent. In these lectures he sought to provide an antidote to pessimism. After describing the movement of consciousness from Greece into Rome, coupled with influences from the Orthodox East, he showed how these influences transformed as the Middle Ages became the Renaissance. The process that begins with Cimabue and Giotto develops, deepens, and becomes more conscious in the great Renaissance masters Leonardo, Michelangelo, and Raphael. Then this movement continues with the Northern masters, Dürer and Holbein, as well as the German tradition. One entire lecture is devoted to Rembrandt, followed by one on Dutch and Flemish paintings. Themes are woven together to show how past epochs of consciousness and art live again in our consciousness-soul period. Replete with interesting information and more than 600 color and black-and-white images, these lectures are rich and dense with ideas, enabling us to understand both the art of the Renaissance and the transformation of consciousness it announced. These lectures demonstrate (to paraphrase Shelley) that artists truly are the unacknowledged legislators of the age. Art History as a Reflection of Inner Spiritual Impulses is a translation from German of Kunstgeschichte als Abbild innerer geistiger Impulse (GA 292, Rudolf Steiner Verlag, 2000).
Rudolf Steiner understood that the history of art is a field in which the evolution of consciousness is symptomatically and transparently revealed. This informal sequence of thirteen lectures was given during the darkest hours of World War I. It was a moment when the negative consequences of what he called the age of the consciousness soul, which began around 1417, were made most terribly apparent. In these lectures he sought to provide an antidote to pessimism. After describing the movement of consciousness from Greece into Rome, coupled with influences from the Orthodox East, he showed how these influences transformed as the Middle Ages became the Renaissance. The process that begins with Cimabue and Giotto develops, deepens, and becomes more conscious in the great Renaissance masters Leonardo, Michelangelo, and Raphael. Then this movement continues with the Northern masters, D rer and Holbein, as well as the German tradition. One entire lecture is devoted to Rembrandt, followed by one on Dutch and Flemish paintings. Themes are woven together to show how past epochs of consciousness and art live again in our consciousness-soul period. Replete with interesting information and more than 600 color and black-and-white images, these lectures are rich and dense with ideas, enabling us to understand both the art of the Renaissance and the transformation of consciousness it announced. These lectures demonstrate (to paraphrase Shelley) that artists truly are the unacknowledged legislators of the age.
‘When you perform a ritual, it is an appeal to the spiritual powers of the universe, an appeal to the powers that are meant to connect with the earth precisely through what people do…’ – Rudolf Steiner With rituals or cultic forms as his central motif, Rudolf Steiner refers extensively to Indian, Persian and in particular Egyptian initiation rites, and how these enabled people of antiquity to connect with specific spiritual beings. He explains the practical purpose of mummification for the religious life of ancient Egypt, and of the use of ritual in certain secret societies or brotherhoods today as, in turn, a mummification of Egyptian rites. But he also points to the future, describing how truly-formulated rituals have a positive effect on human development. Whilst inhalation exercises were relevant to cultures of the past, the principle of ‘exhalation’ is important for future evolution. On the one hand, these extraordinary lectures relate to Rudolf Steiner’s ceremonial work in the Esoteric School of 1906-1914, but more significantly they were given in parallel to the founding of the Christian Community, for which Rudolf Steiner mediated its sacraments. Today, he states, Christ must be sought through a new access to the spiritual world, and any remaining traditional ritualistic forms should be permeated with the power of the Mystery of Golgotha. The lectures are accompanied with an introduction by Dale Brunsvold, editorial notes and an index. Trans. by P. King; Intro. by D. Brunsvold; Eight lectures, Dornach, Sept.-Oct. 1922, GA 216
Replete with fresh immediacy, rich spiritual content, innovation and occasional humour, these talks were given at a time when Rudolf Steiner was preparing for independence from the Theosophical Society. Alongside the much-loved lectures 'Nervousness and Ego Development' – in which Steiner shares practical exercises for coping with contemporary life's challenges – and 'Love and Its Significance in the World', the collection finds a focal point in descriptions of the 'Three Soul Paths to Christ'. The first of these is via the Gospels, the second through 'Inner Experience' and the third 'Initiation', which Steiner characterizes as a path transcending religion. He further elaborates these themes in a lecture entitled, 'Mysteries of the Kingdoms of Heaven in Parables and in Real Form'. Elijah, John the Baptist, Raphael and Novalis form a golden thread throughout, appearing as a fourfold herald of a true Christianity of the future. A moving yet astringent tribute to the founder of Theosophy, H.P. Blavatsky, on the tenth anniversary of her death, adds the Christian verities not embraced by Blavatsky during her lifetime, and two stirring talks that set the mood for Christmastide – via St Matthew, Eudocia and St Luke – round off the volume with paeans to Novalis. The lectures are complemented with an introduction by Margaret Jonas, detailed notes and an index. Fourteen lectures, various cities, Jan.–Dec. 1912, GA 143
With the unprecedented global conflict of the First World War as an overarching theme, Rudolf Steiner addresses timeless issues such as the search for harmony between peoples and nations, the development of the human capacity for love, the contemporary presence of Christ, and the questions of reincarnation and life after death. Speaking in the German city of Stuttgart during and after the war years, Steiner discusses the perpetual tension between East and West – particularly in relation to Europe. The war, he says, arose principally out of the Anglo-Saxon peoples' determination 'to exercise world-domination'. Knowing that Slavic culture is destined to be the precursor of the sixth cultural epoch, Western national interests resolved to make Eastern Europe – specifically Russia – 'the field for socialist experiments'. These events were aggravated by the failure of the Central European peoples in their own world-historical task, to 'rise to a broad sense of vision' as intermediaries between the two groups. Throughout, Steiner refers to the work of individual Folk Souls, but distinguishes them from the scourge of nationalism – especially when it is based on blood – whilst emphasizing the sovereignty of the individual human being. Although more than a century old, the enduring themes of these previously-untranslated lectures will resonate with many readers today. The main text is supplemented with an introduction by Simon Blaxland-de Lange, editorial notes and an index. Sixteen lectures, Stuttgart, Sept. 1914–March 1921, GA 174b
One hundred years after Rudolf Steiner presented his lectures on agriculture in 1924, the impact of his words are self-evident. Around the world, biodynamic principles are practised in thousands of thriving farms, vineyards and gardens, and Demeter certification for biodynamic produce is recognized internationally as a mark of quality. Speaking to a modest audience of farmers in a village in modern-day Poland, Steiner launched the first organic agricultural movement. But what has come to be known as 'biodynamics' is distinguished by many unique aspects, including the use of herbal and mineral 'preparations' (which serve as dynamizing applications for compost and field sprays) and the concept of the farm or garden as a single living organism, encompassing animals, crops, soil and community.This definitive, centenary edition of the influential Agriculture Course has been reedited from primary sources to be as faithful as possible to Steiner's original meaning. Shorthand reports have been freshly transcribed, archival discoveries added, and fresh commentary and notes inserted. In addition to the original eight lectures and four discussions, this volume features a wealth of new texts, including notes, addresses and resolutions relating to the Experimental Circle – founded contemporaneously to bridge research and practice – comprehensive facsimiles of Rudolf Steiner's preparatory notes for the course; original programmes and attendee lists; questions sent in advance; written and verbal reports by Steiner, including his address to young people; photos of Koberwitz, and high-quality colour plates of his original blackboard drawings. Eight lectures, four question-and-answer sessions, Koberwitz, June 1924, GA 327
'There will be a resurrection – a resurrection that should not be imagined politically... but it will be a resurrection. Goetheanism still rests in the grave as far as external culture is concerned. But Goetheanism must rise again.' In the first winter following the Great War, Rudolf Steiner appealed to the spirit of Central Europe – which he characterized as Goetheanism – that had been languishing for decades. Only such a spiritual force could provide answers to the pressing social, national and international questions of the time. A new constellation of polar, hostile opposition had emerged after the war, with the East and Bolshevism on one side, and the victorious West and Americanism on the other. In the middle, with no apparent role or hope for the future, was the defeated Central Europe. But this 'centre', beseeched Steiner, should not become a vacuum. Rather, it needs to discover its true, world-historical task.In this context, with deep seriousness and urgency, Rudolf Steiner speaks of the work of Goetheanism, which begins with understanding the threefold human being and leads to threefolding the social organism. Steiner goes on to describe the decisive role of the consciousness soul in the present epoch, and how Schiller's Aesthetic Letters and Goethe's Fairy Tale relate to contemporary challenges. He discusses a multitude of seemingly diverse but interrelated themes, such as the migration of peoples in the past and present, the thinking of John of the Cross, and the modern path of spirit cognition. The first English publication of these lectures features an introduction by Christian von Arnim, notes and an index. Twelve lectures, Dornach, Jan.–Feb. 1919, GA 188
Rudolf Steiner’s intuitive artistic knowledge enabled him to use colours in a unique way, giving expression to their individual natures. Together with his many lectures on art, Steiner’s paintings provide artists with fresh ways of understanding colour, allowing for an entirely new creativity and aesthetics. In 1924, Steiner painted a watercolour of the Madonna and Child, giving it the title ‘New Life’. Through Steiner’s depiction of Mary, mother of the Divine Child, this painting draws us to the feminine expression of spirituality. In this highly-illustrated, full-colour book Angela Lord studies this feminine principle, beginning with the very earliest stages of human evolution – the ‘Fall’ from paradise and the pre-historic periods of Lemuria and Atlantis. From the Mysteries of Egypt and Greece to the development of Christian art, she offers insights to the myths and legends of female deities and goddesses. According to Rudolf Steiner, at the time of Jesus’s birth humanity had entered a decadent phase of development. Small groups of initiated individuals, however, were preparing for a sacred birth: the descent of a heavenly being into earthly existence. The God of the Old Testament would be revealed ‘in flesh’, born to a virgin mother. In the second part of New Life – Mother and Child, Angela Lord takes us on a journey through two thousand years of Christian art, covering Iconography, the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. We see how artistic images of Mary and her Child have changed, why these variations have occurred and how they reflect the changing consciousness of humanity. Finally, the ‘New Life’ painting is considered from the interactive processes of colour and composition, illustrated with a series of artistic colour sequences.
‘In the case of a solar eclipse, the evil that has spread over the earth can be carried out into the cosmos to wreak more havoc there, whereas in the case of a lunar eclipse, people who absolutely want to be possessed by evil thoughts can receive them from the cosmos.’ In the first full translation of this lecture course, Rudolf Steiner implores his audience to recognize the connections between the material and spiritual worlds. Eclipses of the sun and moon, for example, are ‘forces at work in the universe, just like those we study today in the clinic or in the chemistry or physics laboratory’. Even everyday thinking can have a strong impact on the outer world. Materialistic thought, he says, can quite literally atomize our surroundings: ‘if all human beings start to think that everything has to be explained in terms of atoms… then the earth will actually turn into atoms… these false ideas create false realities…’ Steiner speaks of the ‘world of will’ as being three-dimensional, the ‘world of feeling’ as two-dimensional, and the ‘world of thinking’ as one-dimensional. The ego itself is dimensionless, and only inner, living thinking can grasp the spiritual-mental. He discusses key cultural figures such as Friedrich Nietzsche, Herman Grimm and Julian the Apostate, and introduces multiple additional topics, including the effect of planetary forces on humans; the healing impacts of metals and other substances; the revitalization of thinking through meditation and concentration; the effects of the separation of science, art and religion; and the necessary transition from philosophy to anthroposophy. Thirteen lectures, Dornach, Jun.–Jul. 1922, GA 213
Knowledge of the cosmic significance of Christ and his mission, once experienced intuitively, has faded over the centuries. As theologians and historians of the Church critically scrutinized the Gospel records, their focus shifted from a gnostic vision of Christ to the human figure of ‘the simple man’, Jesus of Nazareth. In these enlightening lectures, Rudolf Steiner shows how ‘the Mystery of Golgotha’ (his term for the Crucifixion and Resurrection of Christ) can be understood as the pivotal event in human history, and the Gospels as ‘initiation documents’ that can serve to guide us on a path of spiritual development. He contrasts elements of the religious thinking of Jesuitism with Rosicrucianism – particularly in relation to the effect on human will – and discusses the characteristics of the two Jesus children in the contrasting accounts by Luke and Matthew. Steiner demonstrates how the great religious traditions of Zarathustra and Buddha helped prepare the way for the events of Palestine. In the process he clarifies controversial topics in Christian theology, such as the resurrection of the physical body of Jesus Christ. The emphasis throughout these lectures is on rediscovering the esoteric path to Christ and awakening to a new revelation manifesting in our time: Christ as the ‘Lord of Karma’. This edition features a revised translation and is complemented with editorial notes and appendices by Frederick Amrine and an introduction by Robert McDermott. Eleven lectures, Karlsruhe, Oct. 1911, GA 133