Meditations on Raphael’s Sistine Madonna

WITH BELLA FREUMAN LIVE AND ON ZOOM

Bella Freuman, a second-generation Holocaust survivor born in Israel, lives with a 3-foot by 5-foot reproduction of Raphael’s Sistine Madonna above her bed and meditates on it nearly daily. She asks of the painting, “What is the theme underlying all that you wish to pass on to us and future generations?”  As a long-time student of anthroposophy well aware of Raphael’s other incarnations, her explorations have uncovered a strong connection between this incomparable painting and the opening sentences of Genesis (from “In the beginning” to “And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.”).

 “In Hebrew,” she observes, “every letter and word is a world in itself.” In this presentation, Bella will share her discoveries and insights.