Modern and Contemporary Art

Born on March 8, 1945, in Donaueschingen, Germany, just months before the conclusion of World War II, Anselm Kiefer is best known for his powerful and thought-provoking works influenced by post-war German culture. Kiefer's artistic practice engages head-on with the aftermath of the War and Germany’s complex history and mythology, through painting, sculpture, installation and mixed media compositions. His large-scale artworks often evoke wasteland landscapes - complete with layers of natural materials - or empty architectural interiors. He also employs unusual mediums like lead to create large books, referencing the literary and political heritage of his homeland, as well as the heavy and poisonous nature of the material.

Kiefer created a number of works in the late 1980s - including the present lot - referencing the mythological figure of Berenice, notably a sculptural work in the collection of the Guggenheim Bilbao made of lead, glass, photographs, and hair, in the form of an airplane wing and fuselage on the ground. The legend of Berenice dates to the third century BC, in which Berenice, the Princess of Cyrene (now Libya) offers a lock of her hair to secure the safe return of her husband. The hair rises to the night sky and forms a new constellation. In Kiefer’s mixed media work here, a female figure stands nude with limbs spread out in a kind of offering or exaltation, with the constellation whirling above her in a collaged photograph. Ashes and other materials have been applied to the work, lending to a feeling of sacrifice and solemnity. Employing ancient stories of loss and rebirth, Kiefer relates mythology to modern history while also contemplating his own contemporary world.