Brünnhilde's Death
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.
Artwork Details
- Title: Brünnhilde's Death
- Artist: Anselm Kiefer (German, born Donaueschingen, 1945)
- Date: 1976
- Medium: India ink, watercolor, and acrylic on joined paper
- Dimensions: 34 3/4 x 17 1/8 in. (88.3 x 43.5 cm)
- Classification: Drawings
- Credit Line: Purchase, Lila Acheson Wallace Gift, 1995
- Object Number: 1995.14.21
- Rights and Reproduction: © Anselm Kiefer
- Curatorial Department: Modern and Contemporary Art
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