Astral Snake
By 1980 Kiefer’s drawings, like his paintings, began to manifest a complex, near-alchemical approach to materials that included the use of lead, shellac, and even sand over torn and pasted photographs. Their subjects are drawn from the artist’s broad-ranging interests in history, philosophy, poetry, and mythology. In Astral Snake, Kiefer associated the encircling serpent (a carefully torn photograph of a bamboo plant), which hovers against a starry night sky, with the Gnostic image of the Ouroboros, a snake biting its own tail that connotes infinity or a circular concept of time.
Artwork Details
- Title: Astral Snake
- Artist: Anselm Kiefer (German, born Donaueschingen, 1945)
- Date: 1980–85
- Medium: Torn and pasted gelatin silver print, shellac, and watercolor on gelatin silver print
- Dimensions: 23 3/8 x 29 1/8 in. (59.4 x 74 cm)
- Classification: Drawings
- Credit Line: Purchase, Lila Acheson Wallace Gift, 1995
- Object Number: 1995.14.28
- Rights and Reproduction: © Anselm Kiefer
- Curatorial Department: Modern and Contemporary Art
More Artwork
Research Resources
The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.
To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.
Feedback
We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.