Faust

Erna Landweer-Benter (1904 – 1995) received her education at the School for Applied Arts in Breslau and in this period she came into contact with Rudolf Steiner, whose person and artistic ideas have been of major influence on her life and work. For years she gave art classes at Waldorf Schools and pedagogical institutions and from 1965-1975 she was linked to the Dutch Pedagogical Institution and the Waldorf High School in Zeist/Driebergen (Holland), both developed by prof. B.C.J. Lievegoed. Partly because of these activities she was skilled in various techniques, like painting, water color and pastel drawing, and created glass mosaics and transparent paperworks. Furthermore she developed the old technique of encaustics (warm wax crayon) into a splendid means of expression. Art critic Robert van de Vijver, quoted in the catalog of the retrospective ‘Erna Landweer 75 years’ in the Waldorf High School in Driebergen, among other things wrote the following: ‘Despite the rich color varieties the work is never restless. Some pictures remind strongly of Chagall, others of Van Gogh, although the way of applying the paint is quite different.’ She received her inspiration from nature, Nordic mythology and the Christian tradition. Quite known are her series of 20 works about ‘Olav Asteson’s Dreamsong’ and ‘Väinämoïnen’, the legendary old singer from the Finnish Kalevala-epic.

The penetrating picture ‘Faust’ is done in the encaustic technique and refers to Goethe’s work, verse 11381-11505, when Faust meets the four faded women Hardship, Guilt, Care and Distress in the middle of the night. The work is signed and has been obtained directly from the artist. Because the paper has been treated with warm wax crayon it bubbles here and there.