Marie Steiner-von Sivers

Marie Steiner-von Sivers[1] (14 March 1867 – 27 December 1948) was a Baltic German actress, the second wife of Rudolf Steiner and one of his closest colleagues.

[2][3] She made a great contribution to the development of anthroposophy, particularly in her work on the renewal of the performing arts (eurythmy, speech and drama),[2] and the editing and publishing of Rudolf Steiner's literary estate.

In the autumn of 1901, she posed the question to Steiner, "Would it be possible to create a spiritual movement based on European tradition and the impetus of Christ?"

[4][5] Beginning in 1914, Steiner drew up a succession of wills naming Marie Steiner-von Sivers as heir to his entire work and property and his successor in the leadership of the anthroposophical movement.

With Steiner-von Sivers' guidance, it developed in three directions: as a stage art, as an integral part of Waldorf pedagogy, and as a therapeutic method.

[3] With her help, Steiner conducted several speech and drama courses with the aim of raising these forms to the level of true art.