Windows on Eternity: The Paintings of Peter Birkhauser

When I showed a friend some of the paintings by Swiss artist Peter Birkhauser, he was impressed, saying "It's as if Jung met William Blake." At that moment he didn't know that Birkhauser was personally acquainted with Jung. Indeed the great psychologist had one of Birkhauser's paintings in his library which us reproduced in this book. I suspect the artist's work may be largely unfamiliar to English readers. I haven't been able to trace any of them in galleries, or exhibitions of them, outside Switzerland. Most of the ones I have seen is in plates in books of Jungian psychology, or on the covers. This is a shame. To judge from the wonderful plates in this book: they are something special. Birkhauser began his life as a graphic designer, and was a photographer. Some of this shows in the paintings which are the glory of this beautifully prepared volume. There is a range of subject matter, from a detailed drawing of a moth which would not be out of place in a scientific textbook, to a portrait of his wife, an allegorical portrait of a man with a split face, grotesques, allegories and animals such as cats and reptiles. There are also visionary images in paintings like "Bear at the Tree of Lights" and "Anima with a Crown of Light." Some of these can be found using a Google search. One of the features of his work is his combination of reality (objects, like cars and aeroplanes) together with the allegory and abstract combined on the same canvases. The pictures often explode with deep, sensual colours that is refreshing to look at and well as profoundly moving. The book has been prepared by Birkhauser's daughter who is Jungian analyst. She provides a chronological commentary on the many paintings in the book, together with accounts of dreams that inspired them. This inevitably is tempered with interpretations in this light. The sequence of works are explored as being indicative of Birkhauser's individuation process in therapy. Jungians will probably note that there are interesting parallels to the main commentary in this book and an essay by Jung himself on the Individuation process in The Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious (Collected Works of C. G. Jung) . Thus this book will be of interest for therapists as a study of how images develop in a therapeutic context, though the work reproduced here is probably of a higher artistic quality than usual. The paintings, however, transcend their therapeutic value and are wonderful art with high aesthetic value. Of additional interest is also an essay on Birkhauser and a valediction by his analyst Marie-Louise von Franz. There is also a biography of the artist, that fills in details together with a list of exhibitions his paintings have appeared in. All the writings in this volume are worth reading, if at times they can be heavy with references as is sometimes the case with Jungian writings. But it is the paintings that are the main glory here. Birkhauser deserves to be known more widely. I will be returning to them again and again, because for me there is something inspiring and powerful about them. They are more than worth the price of the book alone.

Fascinating works of art accompanied by interesting, insightful commentary. Besides exhibiting Birkhäuser's life's work and spiritual journey, there's a lot here for Jung fans as well.

This book was a gift to my wife for her bithday. She just love it, she is a psychologist and she wanned this book for some time.

Nulla da aggiungere, é un gioiello di libro che vale decisamente il prezzo!

The paintings — profoundly beautiful, rare, and alive with the depths of the soul — stand out along with the insightful commentary. The shipping and condition of the book were also excellent. From South korea.

Outstanding. The most beautiful and one of the most interesting and worthwhile Jungian books ever written. The author is a Jungian analyst and the book contains jaw-dropping paintings of dream images and active imaginations done by her father, Peter Birkhauser, between 1942 and 1976. (his age 31-65). The author combines her father's notes on the images and dreams with her own commentaries with those done by Marie-Louise von Franz who worked with Birkhauser off and on for 25 years.. There is also a separate essay by von Franz. . Birkhauser and Jung knew each other well--and comments and correspondence from Jung describe the impact of Birkhauser's painting on him. Anyone impressed with the startling painting in Jung's Red Book will find this at least equally impressive.