THE PAINTING CYCLE WORLDS
I wouldn’t know how to convey the essence of these paintings to viewers through 'explanations,'
because if what is depicted here could be captured in words,
then I wouldn’t have expressed it in form and color.
I can only say that everything I reveal in these images
is as real and self-evident to my inner vision
as any object in the external world is to my outer sight.
I have met people who see the same with their inner eye
and were delighted to recognize an artistic representation of it here.
– WORLDS OF SPIRIT
The Worlds painting cycle consists of 20 works and is part of the book Worlds of Spirit (Welten).
We do not have better images available. However, most of the Worlds paintings can be purchased in high quality as art prints or even as replicas from Kober Publishing.
To enlarge or reduce the images, click on them and use the zoom controls on your device.
Regarding the creation period of the
Worlds
cycle: In the second (1960) and third (1997) editions of the book 'Der Maler Bô Yin Râ' (The Painter Bô Yin Râ), on page 126, Rudolf Schott writes about the
Worlds
paintings: "Bô Yin Râ created these compositions in Görlitz (approximately 1920 to 1922) for himself and those close to him who understood." (p. 126). This information was valid for many decades.
Recent research in the Görlitz archives has established that the latest possible date for the completion of the Worlds cycle is May 1921, as an exhibition by the Jakob Böhme Association in Görlitz that month included the Worlds series. (source: Magische Blätter April 2020, S. 137ff)
In the book My Work As A Painter (p. 44) by Bô Yin Râ it is noted that the first spiritual paintings were already created before Expressionism emerged. In his article in the Görlitzer Gazette dated June 5, 1921 (Magische Blätter, April 2020, p. 140), Bô Yin Râ directly references this timeframe in relation to the majority of the Worlds paintings displayed in the aforementioned exhibition. Bô Yin Râ includes a similar statement in the preface to his book Worlds of Spirit (1922). If we date the beginning of Expressionism to the founding of the German artist group 'Die Brücke' in 1905, then only the early years of the century remain as the period for the creation of the first spiritual paintings. Further evidence of this is found in Bô Yin Râ's obituary for Max Klinger (Nachlese II, Kober-Verlag, pp. 63ff), who passed away on July 4, 1920.
Bô Yin Râ writes that he first encountered Max Klinger fifteen years earlier, in 1905. Both this account and the referenced chapter from My Work As A Painter indicate that the first spiritual paintings already existed at that time, even though Bô Yin Râ showed them to Klinger only in a subsequent meeting. Additionally, a newspaper article from 1921 states that the Worlds series were already twenty years old (Magische Blätter, April 2020, pp. 232f).
Remarkably, Schott himself writes in the first edition (1927) of the aforementioned book, which Bô Yin Râ was still able to review: "Bô Yin Râ painted most of these compositions a long time ago – some nearly a quarter of a century ago ..." We can therefore now be certain that most of the Worlds paintings were created soon after the beginning of the 20th century with the first, still hidden writings of the spiritual teachings (Hortus conclusus and The Path of My Pupils, each in the concluding chapter). Additionally, it can be inferred that the pentagonal signature with the initials of the spiritual name, which Bô Yin Râ only received in Greece in 1912/1913, must have been added later to most of the paintings. In fact, even the pictures in the first edition (1922) of the book Worlds of Spirit do not yet feature this pentagonal signature.
As reported in Magische Blätter (November 2022, pp. 28ff), we learn from the Swedish Bô Yin Râ Foundation that all the Worlds paintings were sold to Sweden "around 1920". In the spring of 1952, they were transferred to Switzerland, where they remain to this day. In 1956, the second edition of Worlds of Spirit was published by Kober Verlag with new illustrations. Based on the artist’s biographical data, it can be concluded that he never saw the Worlds paintings again after the Görlitz exhibition in May 1921.
The referenced 'Magische Blätter' can be purchased from the publisher here.
* * *
Finally, it should be noted that all the biographical data on these pages are irrelevant to the appreciation of the books and paintings—provided that by 'appreciation' we mean an internalization similar to the way one consumes food to experience its effects, rather than analyzing its contents.
In this analogy with food, the external information provided here would be akin to the packaging—not aimed at describing the contents, but rather at pointing them out so that they can be found!
The biographical details have fulfilled their purpose if they invite those unfamiliar with the author and painter to pause and consider whether they wish to absorb the "nourishment" offered. For those who have made Bô Yin Râ's work a companion in life and whose interest eventually turns to the earthly journey of the creator—even though it is "not necessary"—these details may help them understand how his work came into the world without the need for their own exhaustive searches.