Petrarch: an introduction . . .

Petrarch as Singing Tree

Dear Friends,

At our February 21, 2026 Section meeting, we began an exploration of the Italian Renaissance, Renaissance Humanism, and the secular humanist literary tradition that is so central to our Section and its concerns. Although we are using Rudolf Steiner Art History lectures (GA 292) from 1916-1917 as our starting point, the meetings will include presentations from time to time that focus on the literary side of things. We’ve of course been doing that all along over the years, but now we are doing this in a more concerted and you might say “esoteric” way, in order to explore “Raphael-Novalis” in the light of Rudolf Steiner’s anthroposophy. At this meeting, I presented “Petrarch: an introduction.”

Here a video of the meeting presentation in which I introduced Petrarch and explained why and how I think Petrarch relates so importantly to “Raphael-Novalis” and the concerns of our Section.  

Paul Gierlach will feature Dante at an upcoming meeting on April 25. 

March 5, 2026