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Hoffmann von Fallersleben: The Belt

1977–78
Not on view
The Belt refers to the narrow body of water that separates northern Germany from Denmark and represents, in an expurgated verse of the German national anthem "Deutschland über Alles," one of the four waterways that delineate the German-speaking world. The anthem’s lyrics were first a poem, written by patriot August Heinrich Hoffmann von Fallersleben (1798–1874) while he was in exile in Helgoland. A cry for the democratic unification of the German states, the poem was celebrated after World War I as the national anthem but later used by the Nazis for a different kind of nationalistic fervor. It is perhaps the anthem’s fraught history that appealed to Kiefer.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Hoffmann von Fallersleben: The Belt
  • Artist: Anselm Kiefer (German, born Donaueschingen, 1945)
  • Date: 1977–78
  • Medium: Acrylic, graphite, and shellac on paper
  • Dimensions: 21 x 26 1/4 in. (53.3 x 66.7 cm)
  • Classification: Drawings
  • Credit Line: Purchase, Lila Acheson Wallace Gift, 1995
  • Object Number: 1995.14.22
  • 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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