William Peters: Oskar Hopfer & The Master Therion

Born the son of a saddle maker in rural Germany at the end of the 19th century, Oskar Hopfer's artistic talent was recognised even as a child. Though a commercial artist during his life Hopfer is today remembered in his native Thuringia for his evocative landscapes of the Weida Valley.  Less well known, however, is Hopfer's close collaboration with philosopher and occultist Aleister Crowley. In 1925, Hopfer was commissioned to complete the illustrations for a new edition of Crowley's classic of comparative religion, 777, and named a partner in the Thelema-Verlag-Gesellschaft, Crowley's short lived Leipzig publishing house.   Though the catastrophe of the Second World War and the ensuing Iron Curtain ended their direct collaboration, Hopfer continued to study the teachings of The Master Therion. Shortly before to his death in 1966, still isolated in communist East Germany, Hopfer ensured that his designs for "the most complete book in the world"…