Culture appears world-wide in diverse local and regional forms, which express the full range of human behaviour, thinking and creative action. Their areas of expression e.g. in the form of

• languages
• historical and social narratives
• values and norms
• images and symbols
• worldviews
• thought traditions and religions
• economies and systems of ownership
• rituals, customs and traditions,

rarely correspond exactly to political borders. It is not unusual for individual nation states to be home to different language communities, political persuasions, religions and economic systems. Moreover, these cultural territories are constantly open to the possibility of being either consolidated or transformed by means of exchange, invasion, migration, or even self-imposed isolation. Through the globalisation of trade and information technologies, through travel and migration, through global challenges such as the need to protect our biosphere, to contain violent conflicts, and to provide everyone with a secure livelihood, humanity now finds itself in the dramatic situation of having to pursue cross-cultural understanding without diluting diversity or imposing uniformity. Waldorf education shares this respect for cultural diversity, and while it is firmly committed to supporting its students in developing their own cultural identity, it also prepares them for respectful dialogue with people of other cultures. This obviously implies a fundamental rejection of any hierarchical ranking of cultures.

When the editors of this volume decided to translate the chapters on home language (expressed in German as “mother-tongue”) and history, thus placing them within the context of the international, i.e. inter-cultural, discussion of curricular issues, this was not done with the intention of exporting curricula written for the central-European, German-speaking cultural realm into other countries and cultures. After a long and painstaking discussion as to whether such a misunderstanding could arise, they came to the conclusion that a critical appraisal of the translations could provide the basis for developing the subjects of home language and literature, art appreciation/aesthetics and history according to the cultural perspective of the region or nation concerned. Furthermore, the curricula as written for the German-speaking realm provide a clear example of how lesson content and learning objectives can be matched to particular phases of development and thus support the process of individuation in the students. All this serves to underline the principle that the central task of education based upon understanding of the human being – whatever the subject matter – is to come to terms with the developmental demands inherent in the process of individuation.

The purpose of teaching this subject is to awaken interest in art and to help young people develop a personal relationship to it based on understanding. The intention is that in studying works of art the students develop an eye for detail, an awareness of how artworks achieve their effects, an understanding for the rules of aesthetics and through all this the ability to trust their own power of perception, recognise the intrinsic value of artistic activity, and on this basis arrive at their own aesthetic judgments. Of course, this also involves conveying knowledge of the main paths of artistic development and their modes of expression.

Art appreciation begins with class/grade 9 and is integral to the process of meeting the major physical transition this age-group will be going through, and the awakening of new capacities associated with it (→ Background considerations for teaching in the high school). This new sensibility can now be applied to works of art and further developed. The lesson content is intended to teach young people how to base their judgments upon exact observation and sensitive discernment.

By the end of his or her school career, the student should have the conviction: art is worth my attention, because for one thing it can bring human inner experience – my inner experience – to expression in a universally valid way, and for another it can create access to realms that lead into the future.

Art tends to call forth different questions than science does. The sciences focus on cause and effect, confining themselves to the biological aspect of the human being. Artistic activity springs from other sources. It unfolds within a realm of freedom, which is not under the compulsion of any cause. The act of artistic creation is thus the prototype of free human action.

The themes for each year are chosen in accordance with the stage of development the students have reached at the time in question. The suggestions made are indications of material that has proved its worth. They show what can be done, but not what has to be done. The design of the lessons and the type of assignments set are, in keeping with the spirit of Waldorf education, entirely up to the free choice of the individual teacher.

Besides the idea put forward here of concentrating attention upon fine art, which has been widely taken up by the schools in recent decades, there is also the idea which has been in practice since the founding of the first Waldorf school. Here the aesthetic emphasis is not only upon fine art, but also upon poetics and music. In this case, fine art is replaced by poetics in class 10 and music in class 11. The thematic sequence is thus as follows: grade 9 – fine art; grade 10 – poetics; grade 11 – music; grade 12 – architecture. These subjects are traditionally taught in Main Lessons. In classes 10 and 11, however, elements of fine art should feature, for instance by drawing parallels to contemporary art in connection with aspects of the poetics main lesson, or pointing out relationships between painting and modern compositions in the music main lesson. These elements of fine art are often taken up in running lessons. Such an approach is best tackled through interdisciplinary cooperation. In many schools both ideas are put into practice.

Methodological considerations

The theme here is the development of art (sculpture and painting) from its prehistoric forms and its appearance in early civilisations up to the Italian Renaissance. The aim is training in the art of looking and the development of awareness through exact description of the works under consideration, as well as copying in various ways, and creative writing. Essentially this is a process of learning the basic methodological steps for approaching works of art. In the development of sculpture the transformation of the image of the human being can be observed, and in painting the change from simple narrative illustration to the achieved picture. In both, the path followed by humanity and the development of consciousness can be discerned and understood.

Suggested lesson content

Early forms

Art is an attribute of human beings from the very beginning.

• Acquaintance with the earliest manifestations of the sculptural impulse, for example, the Venus of Willendorf, prehistoric cult figures, animal sculptures, Cycladic figures etc.
• Cave paintings, e.g. Chauvet, Altamira; Khoi-San rock paintings

Egypt

Egyptian art can be taken as a model of how the artistic impulse appeared among ancient civilisations

• Standing and sitting figures, block statues, scribes; attention is directed towards bodily posture, gaze, gesture; standing figures are joined to the wall behind them
• Representations of daily life, craftsmen
• The cult of the dead and the images of life after death; the otherworldliness of the Egyptians and their pictorial works
• The path of initiation for priests and Pharoahs
• Biographies of archaeologists and explorers, e.g. Carter, Champollion
• The relief and painting: everything must be visible and open to experience (sentient soul)
• Architecture belongs in class 12, and is only sketched here insofar as it is necessary to provide a context for the pictorial works.

Greece

In contrast to Egypt, what immediately catches the eye about Greek art is its vibrancy and rapid development.

• Comparison between Egyptian and early Greek statues; with particular attention to the feet: fleetness of foot; the Archaic smile
• Kouros, charioteer, Poseidon, spear thrower, discus thrower
• Examples of the changes of style from archaic, late archaic, austere style, early classicism, late classicism to Hellenism (male and female statues); practice in recognising the various styles
• The meaning of shrines and temples, competitive sport, oracles
• Reliefs and painted vases
• Temple architecture done in detail in class 12
• If possible there should be a visit to a museum where Egyptian, Greek and Roman artefacts can be seen

Rome

• Busts (e.g. Julius, Augustus, Nero, Caligula, Hadrian); for the first time human character and personality are realistically portrayed
• Wall-paintings of Pompeii: verisimilitude

Early Christianity and the Middle Ages

It is not advisable to skip the Middle Ages, for this period saw a very important artistic achievement: the expression of inner activity in gesture.

• Early Christian sarcophagi
• The mosaics of Ravenna,
• Medieval sculpture (e.g. Autun, Vézelay, Chartres, with particular attention paid to the soul qualities expressed in the gestures; likewise in illustrated manuscripts
• Icons
• Portraits of the Madonna by Duccio and Giotto
• Giotto’s frescoes in the Arena chapel in Padua: the discovery of pictorial composition

Renaissance

The Renaissance marks a step in the development of consciousness: human beings become aware of their individual standpoint (Michelangelo’s David, central perspective)

• Bronze doors of the baptistery in Florence; reliefs by Brunelleschi and Ghiberti
• Michelangelo: David and other works
• Fra Angelico; Masolino and Masaccio (Brancacci chapel); the discovery of perspective by Brunelleschi and the Trinity fresco by Masaccio
• Leonardo (Adoration of the Magi, Last Supper), Rafael (the School of Athens, Madonna portraits)

Methodological considerations

The theme here is painting north of the Alps from the 14^th to the 17^th century. The painting of this period reflects the transition from the mythic-religious mentality of the Middle Ages to the scientific consciousness of modern times. For grade 10 students this is very congenial, in that they themselves have [in their own lives] left the former period behind them, and so are likely to feel at home with scientific matter-of-factness. In painting, this transition means: from gold background to landscape, from type to person, from allegory to direct likeness. The methodology of observation is carried further. Criteria for arriving at an aesthetic judgment can be worked on, for instance, the criteria of verisimilitude according to Georg Schmidt (Schmidt 1982): spatial depth, colour, substance, proportion, graphic detail.

On the poetics main lesson → Home Language and Literature

Suggested lesson content

• Dutch and German painters of the 14^th and 15^th century (e.g. Hans Memling, the Brothers van Eyck, Stephan Lochner, Rogier van der Weyden, Martin Schongauer)
• Albrecht Altdorfer (The Battle of Alexandria), Matthias Grünewald (Isenheim altarpiece), Albrecht Dürer (self-portraits, landscapes, Four Apostles) and Hans Holbein (Portraits, the Envoys) as the first representative of the modern era of the consciousness soul
• Rembrandt (self-portraits, portraits, pictures of groups, the Night Watch)
• museum visits

Methodological considerations

The focus here is on 20^th century art, and bringing it right up to the present. The main emphasis is on painting. The first thing is to facilitate an understanding of the contrasting intentions behind impressionism and expressionism. This polarity has to do with fundamental human attitudes that transcend stylistic history in that they are characteristic of any creative process (Steiner 1985 GA 271; Randebrock 1981), a polarity which therefore provides an overall motif for the whole main lesson. Other main topics are abstract painting, the painting of the second half of the 20^th century, the art of the present and the new artistic forms of installation, video and performance. The students are now at a stage of development in which they are much more readily able to apply their minds to the contemplation of artworks and the formation of aesthetic judgments. The elements of artistic composition are explored, an aesthetic theory of colour and form acquired, so that a diversity of method is possible, enabling young people to feel secure in their dealings with art. Discussions on the purpose and nature of art can be conducted with this age-group. Various classic writings on aesthetics can be taken as a basis for these conversations.

There is also the possibility of combining art with music. Particularly in the 20^th century there have been many instances of this, indeed, several cases of direct cooperation between painters and musicians. Combining these two branches of art makes for a mutual enriching of the disciplines concerned. A combination between art and literature can also be envisaged.  in the first Waldorf school, music was the sole theme for grade 11. Since the 1970’s that of painting has taken hold in many schools, both on its own and in combination with music (Auer 2012: p. 11ff.). On the music main lesson → Music.

• Opening via C. D. Friedrich or Manet
• Impressionism: Monet; neo-impressionism: Signac; colour contrasts, colour broken down into its elements
• The rise of expressionism; Gauguin, van Gogh
• Development of expressionism; the fauves, “Brücke”, “Blauer Reiter”, Picasso
• Rise and development of abstraction: Cézanne, Blauer Reiter, Kandinsky, Mondrian, Malewitsch
• Biographies of some painters (e.g. van Gogh, Kandinsky)
• Experiments and observations towards an aesthetic colour theory (e.g. according to Itten)
• Experiments and observations towards an aesthetic colour theory (e.g. according to Kandinsky)
• Copying a picture and giving a talk on the picture and painter; creative writing
• Painting in the second half of the 20^th century (e.g. Rothko, Newman, Schumacher)
• Beuys and the art of the installation; the extended concept of art
• Contemporary artists (e.g. Rauch, Richter, Turell, Kapoor etc.)
• Visit to an exhibition
• If painting is combined with music, the following topics could also be envisaged:
• Analogies between painting and music (e.g. Monet – Debussy, Kandinsky – Schönberg, Picasso – Stravinsky, Rothko – Feldman, Beuys – Cage)
• Painting inspired by music (e.g. Debussy)
• Study of a piece of music and a talk on the composer

Methodological considerations

The theme for grade twelve is that of architecture and its historical development. Architecture is the most comprehensive of all the arts. After all, it gives form to the spaces in which our life and culture are played out and the other arts are housed. What we have in architecture is an outward projection of the laws governing the physical body (statics, support and load). To study architecture is to experience, in the various kinds of building, different modes of incarnation. At this age, young people’s bodily growth is largely complete, and they have also developed their own inner life. They are now at the point where they can assess their relationship to the world. Architecture is a great help here, because its very nature is to bring outer and inner worlds into relationship in very particular ways.

Architecture can be considered from the following perspectives: the polarity of time and space, the principles of form and structure, functional technicalities, and the question of what mentality is being expressed in the particular relationship between inner and outer. The lesson content spans the period from ancient Egypt to the present. It is important to make sure that we reach the present in our deliberations, for the students have a keen interest in knowing what to think of the architecture of their own time. The lesson can follow the course of historical development, but it can also be organised according to certain themes (e.g. temples, churches, secular buildings etc.) The conversations on the nature and meaning of art can be continued, so that the students have a chance of further deepening their individual views.

Suggested lesson content

• History of architecture from Egypt to the present
• Time and space, outer and inner as fundamental principles of architectonic structure
• Development of architecture as a mirror of the development of human consciousness
• Acquaintance, from examples, with basic concepts, such as support – load, vertical construction – horizontal construction, circular construction – rectangular construction, centralised construction – directional construction, sacred buildings – secular buildings
• Learning how to recognise building styles
• Changes in temple form from Egypt to Rome, the basilica in the Christian church
• The techniques of arch and cupola
• Iron, steel, concrete and glass as modern building materials
• Theory of the senses; how do we perceive architecture?
• Conversations on art and its social significance
• Excursions to local places of interest; guided tours of buildings, exploring buildings
• Art excursion with concrete assignments (e.g. talks, drawings, journals), or in connection with other artistic or social projects

[As it stands, this chapter is extremely Eurocentric. How do China, India, Japan, N. and S. America, Africa, Australia fit into the developmental sequence as presented.?]

[It’s probably a question for Richter. This is one way of penetrating traditional art history with the history of consciousness, following the gradually developing grasp in the high school years. (9^th graders generally don’t have the mental scope to grasp the point of modern developments). It has an internal logic, and artists built on (or rejected!) what came before. Often very consciously. It would help to call this History of Western Art. It would also help to point out, not only interdisciplinary trends in most schools, but also the inclusion of other cultures, as has been practiced in Garden City, and taught by Ted Mahle on the West coast and elsewhere in teacher trainings.]     

Auer, W.-M. (Hrsg.) (2012): Trau deinen Augen. Kunstbetrachtung an Waldorfschulen. Stuttgart

Randebrock, E. (1981): Impressionismus – Expressionismus. Polaritäten künstlerischen Schaffens. Stuttgart

Schiller, F. (2000): Über die ästhetische Erziehung des Menschen. Reclam, Nr. 18062, Stuttgart

Schmidt, G. (1982): Kleine Geschichte der modernen Malerei von Daumier bis Chagall. Basel

Schuchhardt, M. (2010): Kunst und Dichtung im Spannungsfeld von Apollo und Dionysos. Stuttgart

Steiner, R.: Das Sinnlich-Übersinnliche in seiner Verwirklichung durch die Kunst. Zwei Vorträge, München, 15. und 17.2.1918. In: Steiner, R. (1985): Kunst und Kunsterkenntnis. GA 271, Dornach

Steiner, R.: Goethe als Vater einer neuen Ästhetik. In: Steiner, R. (1985): Kunst und Kunsterkenntnis. GA 271, Dornach