The Figure of Christ

Rudolf Steiner and the Spiritual Intention behind the Goetheanum's Central Work of Art

“Yes, that is the Christ. This is how my spiritual eye perceived him in Palestine.” —Rudolf Steiner (speaking of his sculpture, The Representative of Humanity)

Rudolf Steiner referred to The Representative of Humanity—the wooden “group” sculpture of the figure of Christ surrounded by adversary spiritual beings—as the center of the first Goetheanum. Steiner even told the architect of the second Goetheanum that the sculpture he made with Edith Maryon should occupy the same central position it did in the first building. 

What was Steiner’s essential purpose for the sculptural group within the mystery building he conceived, and why did he regard it as the “crown” of the building? What were his intentions—specifically, what were the spiritual aims behind Steiner’s remarkable depiction of Christ?

Steiner described the core purpose of Anthroposophy to be a preparation for Christ's etheric reappearance. The Christ he sculpted was not the possession of a specific community with a religious worldview, but a being active in all of humanity and, thus, “a figure of the future.”

In this focused and powerful short book, Peter Selg engages with these highly contemporary issues, providing thoughtful insights and answers that point to mysteries of the future and humanity's development and the transformation of evil.

Written by Peter Selg

Translated by Matthew Barton

80 pages

5.5" x 8.5"

Published 2009

Paperback