The Art of the Self

""Olga Fröbe-Kapteyn lived at a time when women were particularly open to mystical experiences that they perceived deep within their souls, connecting them to nature and beyond, to the cosmos itself. We can understand her interconnection with the universe more deeply through her art, which takes on special meaning today as we need to seriously rethink our role as human beings in the great ecosystem of Earth. While awaiting a future edition of Olga Fröbe-Kapteyn's Blue Book, I wish you pleasant reading of The Art of the Self, in which Riccardo Bernardini reconstructs the creative experience of a visionary woman and her role in the conception of one of the most significant cultural endeavors of our time-Eranos."" -Her Royal Highness Princess Irene of the Netherlands ""From the very beginning, Olga Fröbe-Kapteyn dedicated herself to uncovering and drawing attention to those remote places where spirituality and art intersect-always as odd, unlikely companions. It is this passionate and profound pursuit that Riccardo Bernardini explores in this book: a journey in search, perhaps, of the 'strange place, ' an imagined ideal where mysticism and artistic expression come together in harmonious union."" -Ugo Nespolo, artist and film director ""Riccardo Bernardini's book is a fundamental contribution to the rediscovery of one of the most original figures at the center of debates around art, psychoanalysis, and spiritualism. From The Art of the Self, Olga Fröbe-Kapteyn emerges as a protagonist in an expanded-perhaps even haunted-idea of modernity that hasn't stopped influencing historians and artists in the past few decades."" -Massimiliano Gioni, Artistic Director of the New Museum, New York and of the Fondazione Nicola Trussardi, Milan