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Lot Essay
Beginning in the early 1980s, Anslem Kiefer shifted his attention away from the landscape to make monumental architecture his primary motif. As a result, it is no longer nature which plays a central role in his works, but rather culture, civilisation and the creative-intellectual achievements of man. These achievements of man are, however, frequently two-sided, since most of the buildings and architectural features the artist employs in his large scale, mixed-media paintings of this period are appropriated from the Nazi era or other military-related monuments. The architectural form employed as a photocopy collage in "Des Malers Atelier" is, for example, reminiscent of similar structures used in other paintings of the same period bearing titles such as "Bunker" or "Tomb".
The theme of the artist's studio plays a central role throughout Kiefer's entire oeuvre. In some cases, a painter;s palette can be found, to which wings have been attached. In many cases, these wings are made of lead and are added to the painting as a sculptural element. Are these the wings of Icarus? If so, it would seem that Kiefer is telling his viewers that their reverence of artists has not been earned and warning them that too much hubris could be fatal. Or is this all meant as a true monument to the victims of Hitler's purging of modern art in the 1930s? Is the unknown painter in fact a "degenerate" artist? As with many of Kiefer's paintings and photographic works, the artist's stance, or his own interpretation of the work's contents, remains ambiguous.
Significant to any event is the fact that, in nearly all of Kiefer's works relating to the artist's studio, the artist himself is absent. A companion painting to the present work is titled "To the Unknown Painter" (1983, Museum of Art, Carnegie Institute, Pittsburgh). In both works, the monumental architecture is set in the far background and is thus "overpowered" by the enormous field in front of it, as though the powers of human creativity were no match for the forces of nature. "Like the architects of the Nazi era, Kiefer conflates a variety of Egyptian and primitive sources to universalise the archetypal tomb of the unknown painter. His frequent identification of the artist with the soldier, whose professions are conventionally opposed, suggests that he considers both to be men of action who fight for ideals." (M. Rosenthal, "Anslem Kiefer", Philadelphia 1987, p. 115.) Thus, the bunker-like building in "Des Malers Atelier" can indeed be seen as a bunker, a place of shelter on the front, that is to say in the "avant-garde". But here as well, Kiefer's message is ambiguous, since the comparison of the artist with the soldier might also lead one to the conclusion that the artist is equally destructive - an interpretation which is underscored by the role of artists and architects in Nazi Germany.
The theme of the artist's studio plays a central role throughout Kiefer's entire oeuvre. In some cases, a painter;s palette can be found, to which wings have been attached. In many cases, these wings are made of lead and are added to the painting as a sculptural element. Are these the wings of Icarus? If so, it would seem that Kiefer is telling his viewers that their reverence of artists has not been earned and warning them that too much hubris could be fatal. Or is this all meant as a true monument to the victims of Hitler's purging of modern art in the 1930s? Is the unknown painter in fact a "degenerate" artist? As with many of Kiefer's paintings and photographic works, the artist's stance, or his own interpretation of the work's contents, remains ambiguous.
Significant to any event is the fact that, in nearly all of Kiefer's works relating to the artist's studio, the artist himself is absent. A companion painting to the present work is titled "To the Unknown Painter" (1983, Museum of Art, Carnegie Institute, Pittsburgh). In both works, the monumental architecture is set in the far background and is thus "overpowered" by the enormous field in front of it, as though the powers of human creativity were no match for the forces of nature. "Like the architects of the Nazi era, Kiefer conflates a variety of Egyptian and primitive sources to universalise the archetypal tomb of the unknown painter. His frequent identification of the artist with the soldier, whose professions are conventionally opposed, suggests that he considers both to be men of action who fight for ideals." (M. Rosenthal, "Anslem Kiefer", Philadelphia 1987, p. 115.) Thus, the bunker-like building in "Des Malers Atelier" can indeed be seen as a bunker, a place of shelter on the front, that is to say in the "avant-garde". But here as well, Kiefer's message is ambiguous, since the comparison of the artist with the soldier might also lead one to the conclusion that the artist is equally destructive - an interpretation which is underscored by the role of artists and architects in Nazi Germany.