Kiefer, Anselm

Kiefer, Anselm (kē`fər), 1945–, German painter, one of the major figures of neoexpressionism, b. Donaueschingen. He studied (1970) with Joseph Beuys, who heavily influenced his work. His large paintings of the 1970s and early 1980s, with their strongly symbolic themes of a savage and contemptible Nazi past (e.g., Shulamite, 1983) and a sere German landscape (e.g., The Meistersinger, 1982), are characterized by broad drawing, scorched and bloody colors, use of unusual materials (straw, metal, pottery shards, glass, sand, etc.), and often the addition of photographs and three-dimensional elements. Later paintings treat mythological, classical, and biblical subject matter as well as Jewish mysticism. Kiefer is also known for his large environmental installations, often with historical themes; for three-dimensional works, often made of lead; and for photographs. Since 1994 he has lived in France.

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Kiefer, Anselm

(born March 8, 1945, Donaueschingen, Ger.) German painter. In 1970 he studied under the conceptual artist Joseph Beuys. In such huge paintings as Germany's Spiritual Heroes (1973) he used visual symbols, somber colours, and naive drawing to comment with irony and sarcasm on Germany's tragic past. In the 1980s his colossal paintings acquired an intense physical presence by means of perspectival devices and unusual textures. He is one of the most prominent figures in late 20th-century Neo-Expressionism.