In Wagner’s version of the Nibelung saga, the lust for wealth and power conflicts with the search for love. The former is symbolized by a magic ring fashioned from gold that was stolen from the Rhine maidens; the latter is personified by the romance of the hero Siegfried and the Valkyrie Brünnhilde. Tricked by the cursed ring, the lovers die, Brünnhilde in a form of self-sacrifice atop Siegfried’s funeral pyre. In Kiefer’s drawing, watercolor and acrylic are used to represent both flame and ash, as well as the waters of the Rhine that rise up to extinguish the flames.
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ARC/Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris. "Anselm Kiefer," May 11–June 21, 1984, no. 112.
Israel Museum, Jerusalem. "Anselm Kiefer," July 31–September 30, 1984, no. 112.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Anselm Kiefer: Works on Paper, 1969–1993," December 15, 1998–March 21, 1999, no. 25.
New York. Arnold and Marie Schwartz Gallery at the Metropolitan Opera. "From the Met to the Met: Anselm Kiefer and Wagner's Ring," February 17–May 9, 2009, not in brochure.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art [The Met Breuer]. "Provocations: Anselm Kiefer at The Met Breuer," December 13, 2017–April 8, 2018, no catalogue.
Anne Seymour. Anselm Kiefer: Watercolours 1970–1982. Exh. cat., Anthony d'Offay Gallery. London, 1983, unpaginated, no. 14, ill. (color).
Jürgen Harten inAnselm Kiefer. Exh. cat., Städtische Kunsthalle Düsseldorf. Dusseldorf, 1984, pp. 162, 175, no. 113, fig. 130.
Nan Rosenthal in "Recent Acquisitions. A Selection: 1994–1995." Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin 53 (Fall 1995), p. 68.
Nan Rosenthal. Anselm Kiefer: Works on Paper in The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Exh. cat., The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 1998, pp. 60, 120, no. 25, ill. p. 61 (color).
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