Description
Book SynopsisRudolf Steiner's watercolour painting 'The Archetypal Human-Animal' presents us with the enigmatic image of a strange creature apparently swimming in water. It has a human profile, showing a clearly outlined nose and slightly-opened mouth, with a mysterious eye, almost concealed in its greenish hair. It has appendages similar to hands and feet, and dark-blue plant-like forms float about in the water beneath the creature's bright red and yellow body. Only the title provides us with a clue to its meaning: it is an 'archetypal human-animal' form. But even this is enigmatic. What is this strange, unusual creature - this archetypal human-animal? We are presented with a perplexing image and a puzzling description. In this original work, illustrated throughout with full-colour paintings and images - many by the author herself - Angela Lord takes us on a journey of discovery to realizing the meaning of Rudolf Steiner's painting. From Goethe's theory of metamorphosis in nature, we are introduced to Steiner's ideas of human evolution, from the primal beginnings of the archetypal human-animal on 'Ancient Moon'. Lord recounts myths and legends from many cultures that tell of human-animal forms, and reflects on the meaning of the fish in Christianity. She takes us through a series of 'colour sequences' for repainting Steiner's human-animal motif, and includes appendices that summarize evolutionary phases of the earth and humanity from a spiritual-scientific perspective. The Archetypal Human-Animal is both a valuable workbook for painters and a fascinating insight into hidden aspects of human evolution.
Table of ContentsPrologue - PART ONE - Chapter One Goethe's Archetypal Animal - Chapter Two Goethe's Metamorphosis of Animals - PART TWO - Chapter One An Evolutionary Background - Chapter Two The Human Being on Ancient Moon: the primal beginnings of Archetypal Human-Animal - PART THREE - Chapter One The Human Being: Handiwork of the Gods - Chapter Two From Fire-Air to Air - PART FOUR - Chapter One The Animals: From the Cosmos Down to Earth - Chapter Two The Origin of the Animals - Chapter Three The Human-Animal Plant becomes Human - PART FIVE - Chapter One Myths and Legends: Monsters and Mermaids - Chapter Two A Cabinet of Curiosities - Chapter Three The Sphinx - PART SIX - Chapter One The Symbol of the Fish in Christianity - Chapter Two The Zodiac - Chapter Three The Evangelists - PART SEVEN - Chapter One The Colours of the Motif - Chapter Two An Approach to the Language of Colour - Appendix One Summary of Evolutionary Phases - Appendix Two Time Charts - List of Illustrations - References and Suggested Reading - Bibliography
