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Broken Flowers and Grass

1980
Not on view
In an act of alteration and metamorphosis, during the 1980s Kiefer began reusing earlier self-portraits staged in the studio to create new works. The title Broken Flowers and Grass comes from the Middle-High German lyric poet Walther von der Vogelweide (1170–1230), who uses the phrase to reference the spot where two lovers made their bed. Dressed in a crocheted gown, the artist presented himself as if asleep, but the broken flowers and grass cover his body as if he were dead and buried, the ultimate state of transformation.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Broken Flowers and Grass
  • Artist: Anselm Kiefer (German, born Donaueschingen, 1945)
  • Date: 1980
  • Medium: opaque watercolor, acrylic, watercolor, and shellac on gelatin silver print
  • Dimensions: 29 7/8 x 23 1/8 in. (75.9 x 58.7 cm)
  • Classifications: Drawings, Photographs
  • Credit Line: Purchase, Lila Acheson Wallace Gift, 1995
  • Object Number: 1995.14.32
  • Rights and Reproduction: © Anselm Kiefer
  • Curatorial Department: Modern and Contemporary Art

More Artwork

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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