Light streams through tall windows and falls upon the paintings of Christian Goll. Those who enter his studio encounter images at the intersection of Earth, threshold, and spirit.
House Pyle, located just a few steps from the Goetheanum among the tall trees behind the Eurythmy Houses, was the home of the painter Christian Goll from 1979 until his death in 2025. Goll lived and worked here, sharing the space in creative partnership with his wife, Barbara Goll. The large windows of the high-ceiling attic studio offer a view above the trees to the west, across the town of Dornach, all the way to the rolling hills of France and Germany. Spending time here, one feels a certain relief from the world. His life’s work of paintings quietly emerged living and working in this studio over five decades of deep seclusion. His work has been showcased in only two exhibitions—once in this very studio at (Haus Pyle) in the fall of 2025 and another in May 2026, organized by his daughter, Felina Goll, with support from the Trigon Foundation Dornach. His body of work comprises more than 500 oil paintings, most of them large-format.
Christian Erdmut Goll was born on September 5, 1939, in Berlin. He spent his childhood in Stuttgart. His father, Felix Goll, also a painter, worked there as a teacher in the Waldorf School. Beginning in 1960, Christian Goll studied painting at the Academy of Arts in Berlin.
Healing Images
A pile of unedited notes and letters, personally addressed to close friends, offers insights into his artistic questions. Goll writes about colors that he wants to harmoniously integrate with the subject matter; he also writes about his chosen motifs—a central one is the figure of Christ. In one of his writings he tells how his paintings of the Christ are meant to have a healing effect upon the viewer. In his idiosyncratic trains of thought, he links concepts from anthroposophy and Rudolf Steiner’s statements on current events to his artistic concerns and these, in turn, directly to his use of color. We get a sense of how completely he was absorbed in this cosmos and how it was only in being far removed from all the bustling activity of the outside world which allowed the majority of his paintings to come into being. In addition to landscapes and a cycle on the Mystery Dramas (some 90 images!), the exhibition features depictions of the Madonna and Michael, as well as images related to the Goetheanum.
A central place is given to encounters with Lucifer and Ahriman on the threshold, as well as stations from the life of Christ. With grand and luminous effect, the oil colors are—depending on the motif—applied in either light glazes or in thicker layers onto primed wooden panels, the larger of which are up to two meters high. For instance, an image from his late period depicts a “conversation” between Christ and Ahriman. The upright figure of Christ on the right side of the painting is rendered in a translucent, incarnate tone tending toward brown. With his left arm bent, Christ’s hand points to the region of his heart; the fingers of his right hand freely point downward. His gaze is directed at Ahriman. The figure of Ahriman leans back evasively—with closed eyes—into a dense blackness, and points downward—commanding, yet feeble—with his right pointer finger extended. A light, cloud-like chiaroscuro seems to expand from the figure of Ahriman toward the upper region in the direction of the figure of Christ. The aura of Christ is open in the region of the head and extends into Ahriman’s realm, slightly brightening Ahriman’s dark surroundings. But a sharp black line separates the two spheres in the middle and lower sections. By means of the medium of paint, Goll thus subtly indicates the inner balance of forces between the two figures.
Nearly all the images on display show a strong expressiveness of lines and the stylization of figures, while, at the same time, translucent areas of color deepen into darkness. We see the early influence of his teacher Karl Schmidt-Rottluff, of whom he was a master student. The subtle variety of depictions of Ahriman’s physiognomy in many thematically related pictures is deserving of attention. At times, these portray a desperately fearful expression; at others, he wears a mockingly contemptuous expression or is sullen, skeptical, and dismissive, forced to listen against his will; at others, a sad, guilt-ridden expression. These images can evoke in us a sense of our own shortcomings.
While these “threshold images,” with their solemn nature, challenge us with inner confrontation, the landscape paintings are more calming and relaxing: a white moon in a pale yellow sky with dark fir trees, painted in a haze, breathing into the bright sky and into their own shadows; in front, a light green meadow with individual blades of grass surrounded by a white light. Summer and winter seem united in a calm, enchanting stillness.
During his lifetime, Christian Goll expressed the wish that his body of work remain intact. This raises the question of how to preserve a work of paintings uniquely dedicated to threshold experiences, to the experiences Steiner depicted primarily in his Mystery Dramas and Class Lessons. Some paintings also depict Steiner in portrait, including one where he converses with Ahriman. The paintings are interesting as an artistic exploration of themes in anthroposophy, but also, through the diverse interpretations of a single figure, they reveal the inner struggle of a man deeply devoted to these themes. We can hope that the future will make possible a full exhibition of Goll’s life’s work, presented in spacious rooms suited to the occasion.
A final studio exhibition featuring a limited selection of works will take place from September 5 (opening reception at 11 a.m.) through September 13, 2026. It will be open daily from 3 to 7 p.m. at Haus Pyle, Rüttiweg 61, 4143 Dornach.
