“The path that Gerard and Elisabeth Wagner have set forth—which leads to experience of the spiritual basis of artistic activity and strengthens the human being’s creative potential—can serve as the means for a renewal of the art of painting out of the eternal and inexhaustible sources of the spirit.” —Sergei O. Prokofieff
“What is postulated here is not the dogmatic laying down of a way of working. Rather the aim is to make evident one possible means of access to an experience of the color world ... and guide actual practice to Rudolf Steiner’s sketch motifs—to their eminent educational power—for we recognize in them a path that can become of great significance to the developing human soul.” (from the introduction)
This unique workbook describes the early stages of training for painters, teachers, as well as for beginners. The stages are based on recommendations by Rudolf Steiner for the development of a renewed art of painting for our time. The book draws on Steiner’s indications for teaching painting in the first Waldorf school, his lectures on color and art, and sketches he made for painters. Together, they form a self-contained system of exercises for a new, spiritually alive art.
(Photo: The authors, Gerard Wagner and Elisabeth Wagner-Koch, in the garden of their house in Dornach, Switzerland.)
Elisabeth Wagner-Koch became the first student of Gerard Wagner in 1950. Together they founded a painting school at the Goetheanum, Switzerland. In addition to her book on color with Gerard Wagner, Elisabeth illustrated an edition of the Grimms' fairy tale, Schneewittchen (Snow White). See all titles by this author
Gerard Wagner (1906–1999) was born in Germany and grew up in England. He began his vocation as an artist by learning from an English plein air painter before starting formal studies at the Royal College of Art in London. Beginning in 1926, he took up the challenge of a new direction in painting as initiated by Rudolf Steiner, which became the essence of his life’s work for more than seventy years. Through his efforts to grasp the secrets of Steiner’s training sketches for painters, Wagner succeeded in disclosing their metamorphic character and, from this, was able to develop a systematic approach to painting. Elisabeth Wagner-Koch, whom Gerard later married, became his first student in 1950, and together they established The Painting School at the Goetheanum, of which he remained the principle teacher until his death in Arlesheim,Switzerland. Rudolf Steiner’s indications for an art of the future remained the impulse for Wagner’s research and artistic activity throughout his life. The fruits of his research are a unique method of teaching and his archive of paintings, which continue to be a source of inspiration for the school. Wagner’s wife Elisabeth cares for the archive of about 4,000 paintings. Visit the Painting School at the Goetheanum online. See all titles by this author
Sergei O. Prokofieff was born in Moscow in 1954, where he studied fine arts and painting at the Moscow School of Art. At an early age he came across the work of Rudolf Steiner and soon realized that his life was to be dedicated to the Christian path of esoteric knowledge. He wrote his first book, Rudolf Steiner and the Founding of the New Mysteries, while living in Soviet Russia, and it was published in English in 1994. After the fall of Communism, he became a cofounder of the Anthroposophical Society in Russia. At Easter 2001, he became a member of the Executive Council of the General Anthroposophical Society at the Goetheanum. See all titles by this author
Peter Stebbing was born in Copenhagen in 1941 and attended Waldorf schools before studying art in Brighton and London. He moved to the U.S. and graduated from Cornell University with an M.F.A. in painting. Following his first teaching stint at the University of Kansas, Peter began teaching color courses at the City University of New York in 1970. Having begun investigations into Goethe’s color theory, he visited the Gerard Wagner painting school in Dornach, Switzerland. There he began training with Wagner, who asked him to teach in the school. Peter later established a painting school at the Threefold Educational Foundation in Spring Valley, New York. For the past thirty years, he has taught introductory courses in Goethe’s color theory with experiments in England, Germany, Switzerland, and the U.S. Since 1992, Peter has been director of the Arteum Painting School in Dornach, Switzerland (www.arteum-malschule.de.vu), and has held a number of exhibitions of his work in Europe and North America. See all titles by this author
This unique workbook describes the early stages of training for painters, teachers, as well as for beginners. The stages are based on recommendations by Rudolf Steiner for the development of a renewed art of painting for our time. The book draws on Steiner’s indications for teaching painting in the first Waldorf school, his lectures on color and art, and sketches he made for painters. Together, they form a self-contained system of exercises for a new, spiritually alive art.
Gerard Wagner (1906–1999) was born in Germany and grew up in England. He began his vocation as an artist by learning from an English plein air painter before starting formal studies at the Royal College of Art in London. Beginning in 1926, he took up the challenge of a new direction in painting as initiated by Rudolf Steiner, which became the essence of his life’s work for more than seventy years. Through his efforts to grasp the secrets of Steiner’s training sketches for painters, Wagner succeeded in disclosing their metamorphic character and, from this, was able to develop a systematic approach to painting. Elisabeth Wagner-Koch, whom Gerard later married, became his first student in 1950, and together they established The Painting School at the Goetheanum, of which he remained the principle teacher until his death in Arlesheim,Switzerland. Rudolf Steiner’s indications for an art of the future remained the impulse for Wagner’s research and artistic activity throughout his life. The fruits of his research are a unique method of teaching and his archive of paintings, which continue to be a source of inspiration for the school. Wagner’s wife Elisabeth cares for the archive of about 4,000 paintings. Visit the 
Sergei O. Prokofieff was born in Moscow in 1954, where he studied fine arts and painting at the Moscow School of Art. At an early age he came across the work of Rudolf Steiner and soon realized that his life was to be dedicated to the Christian path of esoteric knowledge. He wrote his first book, 
Peter Stebbing was born in Copenhagen in 1941 and attended Waldorf schools before studying art in Brighton and London. He moved to the U.S. and graduated from Cornell University with an M.F.A. in painting. Following his first teaching stint at the University of Kansas, Peter began teaching color courses at the City University of New York in 1970. Having begun investigations into Goethe’s color theory, he visited the Gerard Wagner painting school in Dornach, Switzerland. There he began training with Wagner, who asked him to teach in the school. Peter later established a painting school at the Threefold Educational Foundation in Spring Valley, New York. For the past thirty years, he has taught introductory courses in Goethe’s color theory with experiments in England, Germany, Switzerland, and the U.S. Since 1992, Peter has been director of the Arteum Painting School in Dornach, Switzerland (