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Heroic Symbols

1969
Not on view
This work derives from Kiefer’s staged photographs of 1969. In a provocation beyond the illicit subject matter, the artist chose the ironic title "Heroic Symbols" after a 1943 article published in the National Socialist Party propaganda journal Art of the German Reich, which promoted the importance of presenting the national heroism of the past to the citizens of Nazi Germany. Kiefer paired his self-portrait with another watercolor of a luminous blue sky stippled with watery red dots, which according to the artist represent gunshots. His lyrical, fluid handling of the medium is a further paradox with such disturbing and problematic subjects.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Heroic Symbols
  • Artist: Anselm Kiefer (German, born Donaueschingen, 1945)
  • Date: 1969
  • Medium: Watercolor and opaque watercolor on paper
  • Dimensions: a: 6 3/8 × 6 3/8 in. (16.2 × 16.2 cm)
    b: 21 7/8 × 16 3/8 in. (55.6 × 41.6 cm)
  • Classification: Drawings
  • Credit Line: Purchase, Lila Acheson Wallace Gift, 1995
  • Object Number: 1995.14.1a, b
  • Rights and Reproduction: © Anselm Kiefer
  • Curatorial Department: Modern and Contemporary Art

More Artwork

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Morgenthau Plan, Anselm Kiefer German, Acrylic, emulsion, oil, and shellac on inkjet prints mounted on canvas
Morgenthau Plan
Anselm Kiefer
2012
Let a Thousand Flowers Bloom, Anselm Kiefer German, Gouache, sand, ash and charcoal on two torn and pasted photographs
Let a Thousand Flowers Bloom
Anselm Kiefer
2000
Autumn Forest, Anselm Kiefer German, Watercolor, opaque watercolor, and graphite on papers
Autumn Forest
Anselm Kiefer
1970
Wild Emperor, Anselm Kiefer German, Watercolor and acrylic on paper
Wild Emperor
Anselm Kiefer
1975
Brünnhilde's Death, Anselm Kiefer German, India ink, watercolor, and acrylic on joined paper
Brünnhilde's Death
Anselm Kiefer
1976

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