Isabelle de Steiger, née Lace (28 February 1836 – 1 January 1927), was an English painter,

theosophist Theosophy is a religious movement established in the United States in the late 19th century. Founded primarily by the Russian Helena Blavatsky and based largely on her writings, it draws heavily from both older European philosophies such as Neo ...

occultist The occult () is a category of esoteric or supernatural beliefs and practices which generally fall outside the scope of organized religion and science, encompassing phenomena involving a 'hidden' or 'secret' agency, such as magic and mystic ...

and writer. She became a member of several

esoteric Western esotericism, also known as the Western mystery tradition, is a wide range of loosely related ideas and movements that developed within Western society. These ideas and currents are united since they are largely distinct both from orthod ...

societies in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, and was a close friend and co-worker of

Anna Kingsford Anna Kingsford (; 16 September 1846 – 22 February 1888) was an English anti-vivisectionist, Theosophist, a proponent of vegetarianism and a women's rights campaigner. She was one of the first English women to obtain a degree in medicine, aft ...

Biography

Isabelle Lace was born in

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

, the daughter (and one of seven children) of Joshua Lace, a solicitor. She was educated first in Liverpool, then in

Stratford-upon-Avon Stratford-upon-Avon ( ), commonly known as Stratford, is a market town and civil parish in the Stratford-on-Avon (district), Stratford-on-Avon district, in the county of Warwickshire, in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands region of Engl ...

. In 1861, she married a Swiss cotton merchant, Rudolf Adolf von Steiger von Riggesberg. The couple divided their time between England and Switzerland, then settled down, for professional reasons, in Egypt, where her husband died of

Tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

in 1870.Steiger, Isabelle de,
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
'. Isabelle de Steiger returned to England in 1874 and studied art, first at the

Heatherley School of Fine Art The Heatherley School of Fine Art is an independent art school in London. The school was named after Thomas Heatherley who took over as the school's principal from James Mathews Leigh (when it was named "Leigh's"). Founded in 1845, the school ...

, then at the

Slade School of Fine Art The UCL Slade School of Fine Art (informally The Slade) is the art school of University College London (UCL) and is based in London, England. It has been ranked as the UK's top art and design educational institution. The school is organised as ...

in London. Having obtained her degree, she began a career as a professional painter, going on to exhibit at various galleries, such as the

Royal Academy The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House in Piccadilly London, England. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its ...

in London, and the

Walker Art Gallery The Walker Art Gallery is an art gallery in Liverpool, which houses one of the largest art collections in England outside London. It is part of the National Museums Liverpool group. History The Walker Art Gallery's collection dates from 1819 ...

in Liverpool. Her style was strongly influenced by

Lawrence Alma-Tadema Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema ( ; born Lourens Alma Tadema, ; 8 January 1836 – 25 June 1912) was a Dutch people, Dutch painter who later settled in the United Kingdom, becoming the last officially recognised Denization, denizen in 1873. Born in ...

and his historical paintings, such as ''Cleopatra after the Battle of Actium'' etc. She was also known for her flower painting and book illustrations. She illustrated, for example, the occult magazine ''The Unknown World'' (1894-1895), edited by A. E. Waite.The Unknown World
(Answers.com). She painted some figures in the Theosphical movement but unfortunately much of her work was destroyed in a fire. She also experienced the prevailing prejudice against women which made it difficult to rent studio space and attend life classes, as well as social obstacles to women having an independent career.Holden, 1983 In the early 1870s, Steiger was drawn towards

spiritualism Spiritualism may refer to: * Spiritual church movement, a group of Spiritualist churches and denominations historically based in the African-American community * Spiritualism (beliefs), a metaphysical belief that the world is made up of at leas ...

and in 1878 joined the

Theosophical Society The Theosophical Society is the organizational body of Theosophy, an esoteric new religious movement. It was founded in New York City, U.S.A. in 1875. Among its founders were Helena Blavatsky, a Russian mystic and the principal thinker of the ...

. She came into contact with

Madame Blavatsky Helena Petrovna Blavatsky (; – 8 May 1891), often known as Madame Blavatsky, was a Russian-born mystic and writer who emigrated to the United States where she co-founded the Theosophical Society in 1875. She gained an international foll ...

Mabel Collins Mabel Collins (9 September 1851 – 31 March 1927) was a British anti-vivisectionist, occultist and author of over 46 books. She was an important figure in the Theosophical Society during the latter part of the nineteenth century but became cri ...

and

, the latter being especially esteemed by Steiger and becoming a close friend. Later, after a split within the Theosophical society, she became a member of the Hermetic Society, founded by Kingsford; she was also a member of the

Society for Psychical Research The Society for Psychical Research (SPR) is a nonprofit organisation in the United Kingdom. Its stated purpose is to understand events and abilities commonly described as psychic or paranormal. It describes itself as the "first society to condu ...

. Steiger became a friend of the alchemist Mary Anne Atwood, and her own writings were also strongly influenced by Alchemy; on Atwood's death, in 1910, she successfully republished Atwood's principal work, ''A Suggestive Inquiry into the Hermetic Mystery''. She joined the

Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn (), more commonly the Golden Dawn (), was a secret society devoted to the study and practice of occult Hermeticism and metaphysics during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Known as a magical order, ...

in 1888, and, after a factional split of the society in 1903, left with A. E. Waite, joining his "Holy Order of the Golden Dawn", despite their disagreements on the subject of Alchemy. She also founded, in 1912, an ''Alchemical Society''. Towards the end of her life she followed the teachings of

Anthroposophy Anthroposophy is a spiritual new religious movementSources for 'new religious movement': which was founded in the early 20th century by the esotericist Rudolf Steiner that postulates the existence of an objective, intellectually comprehensibl ...

.Pert, Alan.
Red Cactus: The Life of Anna Kingsford
' (Alan Pert, 2006) p. 80. Steiger wrote several books on mystical subjects, including a translation of Karl von Eckartshausen's " The Cloud upon the Sanctuary", and an autobiography. She also wrote articles which appeared in various journals. She died in

Rock Ferry Rock Ferry is an area of Birkenhead on the Wirral Peninsula, England. Administratively it is a ward of the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral. Before local government reorganisation on 1 April 1974, it was part of the county of Cheshire. At the ...

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Merseyside to the north-west, Greater Manchester to the north-east, Derbyshire to the east, Staffordshire to the south-east, and Shrop ...

in January 1927.

Bibliography

Books by Steiger: * ''On a Gold Basis: A Treatise on Mysticism '', (London: Philip Wellby. 1907). * ''Superhumanity'', 1916. * ''Memorabilia: reminiscences of a woman artist and writer'' (London : Rider & Co., 1927). Translated or edited by Steiger: * Karl von Eckartshausen,
The Cloud upon the Sanctuary
'', 1896. (Réédition par Hays Ltd, 2003. * Mary Anne Atwood,
A Suggestive Inquiry into the Hermetic Mystery: With a Dissertation on the More Celebrated of the Alchemical Philosophers Being an Attempt Towards the Recovery of the Ancient Experiment of Nature
' 1910. (New edition by Kessinger Publishing, 1999).

References

*Holden, Pat. ''Women's religious experience'' (Taylor & Francis, 1983) pp. 41–43.

External links

Short biography of Isabelle Steiger and a view of her art
{{DEFAULTSORT:Steiger, Isabelle de 1836 births 1927 deaths 19th-century alchemists 19th-century English painters 20th-century alchemists 20th-century English painters Alumni of the Slade School of Fine Art Painters from Liverpool English alchemists English illustrators English occultists English spiritual writers English Theosophists Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn British parapsychologists 20th-century English women painters 19th-century English women painters

Biography

Bibliography

See also

References

External links