Anselm Kiefer

Cette obscure clarté qui tombe des étoiles

1999

Not on display

Artist: Anselm Kiefer born 1945
Medium: Acrylic paint, oil paint, shellac, earth, sand, wood, paper and glass on 2 canvases, lead, iron, books and other materials
Dimensions: Support: 4700 × 4000 mm
object: 3400 × 1650 × 1100 mm
Collection: ARTIST ROOMS Tate and National Galleries of Scotland
Acquisition: ARTIST ROOMS Acquired jointly with the National Galleries of Scotland through The d'Offay Donation with assistance from the National Heritage Memorial Fund and the Art Fund 2008
Reference: AR00041

Online caption

This installation comprises a painting and sculpture displayed together with fragments of lead and glass. The painting's surface is cracked and broken, created using a combination of wood, straw and paint, mixed with clay and shellac. Kiefer’s bookcase is equally damaged. Completely unreadable, the decaying manuscripts perhaps symbolize the destruction of German-Jewish literature during the Nazi books burnings in 1933. The French title, meaning "The dark light that falls from the stars", is taken from 'Le Cid' by Corneille and refers to Kiefer’s relationship to France, which offered freedom from the weight of Germany’s troubled past.