Mystische Krankenheilung

Albert von Keller's Mystische Krankenheilung (Mystical Healing of Disease, 1885) is one of his explicitly spiritualist-themed works — depicting the miraculous or paranormal healing of illness through spiritual means. In the 1880s, mesmerism, hypnosis, and spiritualist healing were subjects of serious investigation by both scientists and cultural figures; Von Keller's Munich circle included people who attended séances and documented spiritualist phenomena with genuine belief in their significance. His healing scene participates in this cultural climate, treating supernatural healing not as medieval superstition but as contemporary possibility.

Von Keller renders the mystical healing scene with the naturalist technique he brought to all his spiritualist subjects: domestic setting, contemporary dress, figures arranged around a sick person in an attitude suggesting concentration or transmission of healing energy. The 'mystical' element is conveyed through atmosphere — a specific quality of light or shadow — rather than supernatural visual apparatus. His palette creates the appropriate interior atmosphere, and his academic figure handling gives the scene documentary plausibility.