Rudolf Steiner’s watercolour pain4ng ‘The Archetypal Human-
Animal’ presents us with the enigma4c 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 plantlike
forms float about in the water beneath the creature’s bright
red and yellow body. Only the 4tle provides us with a clue to its
meaning: it is an ‘archetypal human-animal’ form. But even this
is enigma4c. What is this strange, unusual creature – this
archetypal human-animal? We are presented with a perplexing
image and a puzzling descrip4on.
In this original work, illustrated throughout with full-colour
pain4ngs and images – many by the author herself – Angela
Lord takes us on a journey of discovery to realizing the meaning
of Rudolf Steiner’s pain4ng. From Goethe’s theory of
metamorphosis in nature, we are introduced to Steiner’s ideas
of human evolu4on, from the primal beginnings of the
archetypal human-animal on ‘Ancient Moon’. Lord recounts
myths and legends from many cultures that tell of humananimal
forms, and reflects on the meaning of the fish in
Chris4anity. She takes us through a series of ‘colour sequences’
for repain4ng Steiner’s human-animal mo4f, and includes
appendices that summarize evolu4onary phases of the earth
and humanity from a spiritual-scien4fic perspec4ve.
The Archetypal Human-Animal is both a valuable workbook for
painters and a fascina4ng insight into hidden aspects of human
evolu4on.
