Monthly Archives: November 2013

Prestigieuses bibliothèques du monde by Jean-François Blondel (Oxus 2013). The French word ‘bibliothèque’ (library) comes from the Greek biblion, “book”, and thékê, “place, location”. It is the place where books are preserved, in the most general sense, that is to say the written word, and it is here where they are consulted. This French publication […]

  The Ritman Library Newsletter no. 13/2013 – 14 November 2013     PARTNERSHIP THE CENTER FOR HISTORY OF HERMETIC PHILOSOPHY AND RELATED CURRENTS University of Amsterdam The HHP is project partner of the Bibliotheca Philosophica Hermetica, the Hermetically Open Project – Hermetic Amsterdam is a track developed by the two institutes in which academic education and the library’s sources […]

Paul Kléber Monod, Solomon’s Secret Arts. The occult in the age of Enlightenment. Yale University Press, 2013 ‘WONDERS!, WONDERS!, WONDERS! and WONDERS!’ With these words showman Dr Gustavus Katterfelto, wearing a long black cloak and cap, praised his demonstrations of scientific marvels such as phosphorus matches, but also the revelation of ‘occult secrets’ in the 1780s. […]

Bruiloft by Claudy Jongstra (De Ketelfactory 2013). Claudy Jongstra is a creative artist who enthusiastically experiments with natural materials to create works of art. In her work she particularly likes to use felt as a basic material. Jongstra’s sources of inspiration for her project ‘Bruiloft’ (‘ wedding’) came from the life and work of the […]

Construction work for the Goetheanum, the chief theatre and conference centre of the anthroposophical movement, began in 1914. It was, in a sense, anthroposophy’s showcase and ticket to the world at large. The name is of course a tribute to Johann Wolfgang von Goethe because of the significance Rudolf Steiner attached to his views on art […]