Leonardo’s Spiritual Stature

Leonardo’s Spiritual Stature at the Turning Point of Modern Times

A single lecture given by Rudolf Steiner at Berlin on February 13th 1913.

“The three great masters of the Renaissance [Leonardo, Michelangelo, Raphael] strove to work in the spirit of that age. And the one who already had a kind of seed, I would say, that grew into everything that has come and is still to come since that time was Leonardo.” – Rudolf Steiner, Dornach, November 1, 1916.

This lecture is the eleventh of fourteen in the volume entitled, Results of Spiritual Investigation, published in German as, Ergebnisse der Geistesforschung. It is the second in a series of four lectures from GA 62, that are newly translated by Peter Stebbing. Edited by James Stewart and Urs Rüd. It is a first time in English lecture, and a First Edition book.

About the Author

Rudolf Steiner (1861–1925) was born in the small village of Kraljevec, Austro-Hungarian Empire (now in Croatia), where he grew up. As a young man, he lived in Weimar and Berlin, where he became a well-published scientific, literary, and philosophical scholar, known especially for his work with Goethe’s scientific writings. At the beginning of the twentieth century, he began to develop his early philosophical principles into an approach to systematic research into psychological and spiritual phenomena. Formally beginning his spiritual teaching career under the auspices of the Theosophical Society, Steiner came to use the term Anthroposophy (and spiritual science) for his philosophy, spiritual research, and findings. The influence of Steiner’s multifaceted genius has led to innovative and holistic approaches in medicine, various therapies, philosophy, religious renewal, Waldorf education, education for special needs, threefold economics, biodynamic agriculture, Goethean science, architecture, and the arts of drama, speech, and eurythmy. In 1924, Rudolf Steiner founded the General Anthroposophical Society, which today has branches throughout the world. He died in Dornach, Switzerland.