Birth of the Human Soul by Philipp Otto Runge (Interpretation and Analysis)

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Birth of a Human Soul
Source: Arthur

There’s something about the world of art that seems to attract off-the-wall people. Maybe it’s the creative atmosphere. Maybe it’s the bohemian lifestyle. Maybe it’s the paint fumes. Who knows.

What I do know is that Philipp Otto Runge was what I would call an off-the-wall individual. Runge was one of the greatest artists of the Romantic movement. He was a renowned painter of portraits who was known for his intense style. Not only did Runge write a truly gruesome story for the brothers Grimm and develop the idea of the color sphere—a crucial development in the study of color—he was also a religious mystic. Runge was a devout Christian who claimed a mystical understanding of God’s mysteries.

His spirituality is clear and present in much of his art. He believed that symbolism and science went hand in hand, and he sought harmony between the spiritual and the natural world through his work. These aspects of his work can be seen in Birth of the Human Soul. The piece depicts a new soul entering the world. Most of the canvas is dominated by an abstract landscape that is reminiscent of a night sky. In the center of the piece, we see a burst of white light, presumably the source of this miraculous creation.

The new soul itself is represented in the form of a small, naked child. He is surrounded by red flowers and fairy-like blue and yellow figures. According to my research, Runge was very passionate about the colors blue, yellow, and red. He embraced the theory that they were the only true colors, believing that all other colors resulted from mixtures of these three. This theory is probably familiar to you because it’s widely believed to this day. Runge attached additional significance to these colors. In Runge’s symbolic language, these three colors represent the holy Trinity of the Christian faith. Here, blue stands for God the Father, red represents Jesus Christ, and yellow symbolizes the Holy Spirit. Based on this symbolic language, Birth of the Human Soul shows all three members of the Trinity ushering this new soul into life, emphasizing God’s role as the creator and celebrating the connection between the divine and humankind. 

Overall, this is a lovely and very aesthetic painting with profound symbol significance. Personally, I find it to be a very hopeful and energetic piece of art. Like all births, it’s very beautiful.

Disclaimer: I’m not an art historian or an expert on this topic. The above is my opinion, based on my interpretation of my foreknowledge of art and history. If I’ve done any additional research, I’ll note it above.

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