Representative of Humanity

In conceiving his architectural masterpiece – the Goetheanum in Dornach, Switzerland – Rudolf Steiner designed a large wooden model featuring three main figures to be placed in a central position inside the building. Known as the Representative of Humanity, this sculpture shows a central, free-standing Christ holding a balance between the beings of Lucifer and Ahriman, who represent polar tendencies of expansion and contraction. On New Year’s Eve 1922, the Goetheanum was destroyed by fire, but the model – still in a process of creation and therefore housed in an external studio ­– escaped the flames. With numerous full colour photos and illustrations, The Representative of Humanity offers a vivid introduction to this monumental, world-historic artwork. We can follow its evolution through photographic documentation of the many models created in its development: from six smaller versions to a full-size, plasticine construction. This latter model offers an impressive insight into the artists’ detailed intentions, having been repeatedly revised by Rudolf Steiner. It demonstrates the continual spiritual movement evident in the whole series of small models, and the metamorphic processes which developed over an eight-year period. The authors offer indications regarding the realm and content out of which the work arose, the environment in which it is situated, and the artists who created it: Rudolf Steiner and the trained sculptress Edith Maryon. They also examine the intentions behind a work of art that addresses the destiny of the whole of mankind.