Worldly Wisdom: Arminius's Battle By Anselm Kiefer

Superior Essays
69 year old Anselm Kiefer is a very famous painter and sculptor. He often uses the components of history and mythology in his paintings. Kiefer is a contemporary artist, meaning his works are produced in the present generation. Being born in Donaueschingen Germany, Nazi Germany is one of the main influences to his artwork, as he uses his artwork to display stories of how he believed Germany should have been, and how they relate to their past, as well as leave the negativity behind. Since he is a Neo-Expressionist, his work relates to history, symbolism, and mythology, so he often paints about his views on these things, such as World War II, and Germany’s involvement. Often times, his paintings have two tier meanings, as his paintings …show more content…
This painting shows Anselm Kiefer’s interest in history, because it includes several historical figures of Germany, that helped shaped Germany’s culture. It also includes several Nazi leaders, which showed Kiefer’s interest in World War II. Kiefer only used very prominent figures from Germany’s history, so it shows how he was interested in the people that really impacted society and Germany’s history. As Kiefer stated, the figures used, “created pantheons of German cultural heroes.” For example, the leader of the Germanic people was included, showing Kiefer’s deep interest in the cultural aspects of Germany’s history. Also, there were several lines used in the painting, which illustrated that Kiefer viewed all of these people as intertwined, and thought that they were somehow connected, in relation to impacting Germany’s history. Another reason why this painting shows Anselm Kiefer’s interest in history is that he used many German symbols, like people, and especially the text used. The text is written in German, showing that Kiefer used as many German symbols as possible to illustrate his interest in German history. Lastly, all of the people shown are illustrated in a circle, which could potentially be showing some kind of order in relation to Germany’s history. For example, they could be in chronological order, or in order based on how much they …show more content…
He uses historical figures, in relation to whatever message is trying to display. Also, he uses events, to display other meanings, of his viewpoints, like in Osiris and Isis. Another way in which he communicates his thoughts through history, is by using several historical symbols, like historical text, that have meanings in relation to his ideas. Kiefer puts his thoughts into place by using historical aspects, but combining them with the elements of art to paint them corresponding to his views. For example, in Ways of Worldly Wisdom: Arminius’s Battle the historical people used are painted in a circle surrounding things, which show his

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