Scripts of the Muse

Erna Heinen-Steinhoff’s manuscripts

Erwin Bowien (1899-1972): Erna Heinen-Steinhoff reading, Kreuzthal-Eisenbach in winter 1945
Erwin Bowien (1899-1972): Erna Heinen-Steinhoff reading, Kreuzthal-Eisenbach in winter 1945

Often known as “Amiela”, Erna Heinen-Steinhoff (1898-1969) left behind many writings. These creations include countless letters and numerous diaries. These texts are considerable, but not widely published.

Amiela, Gifts at the Curtain, Words of a Wise Woman", collected by E.J.Bowien, completed 1946
Amiela, Gifts at the Curtain, Words of a Wise Woman", collected by E.J.Bowien, completed 1946

Erwin Bowien (1899-1972) collected her commentaries and quotations in a manuscript that remains unpublished to this day. Not only did he dedicate many lines to her in his autobiography “The beautiful play between spirit and world: My life as a painter”, which was published posthumously in 1995, but also in his key work: “Heures Perdues du Matin: Journal d'un Artiste Peintre, Alpes Bavaroises, 9.IX.1944-10.V.1945.”, which was published in France in the year 2000 . Not unlike Sartre in his journals, this final work, written in French and published by important Parisian publisher L'Harmattan, tells the experience of being in internal exile, a refugee. Bowien describes his life in a remote corner of the Allgäu from 9th November 1944 until the end of the Second World War. Erna Heinen-Steinhoff, whom he refers to as “Amiela”, is also a central figure of this text.

Available manuscripts by Erna Heinen-Steinhoff

One of the typical aphorisms from the pen of Erna Heinen-Steinhoff
One of the typical aphorisms from the pen of Erna Heinen-Steinhoff

Numerous diaries from the period between 1930 and 1969 as well as letters from the same era. An academic analysis of the material is yet to take place.