Kiefer's work often confronts Germany's Nazi past and the legacy of the Holocaust. Margarethe is a powerful example of his use of landscape and symbolic imagery to explore themes of memory, loss, and historical trauma. His use of unconventional materials (straw, ash, lead) adds to the emotional weight of his work.
Born: March 8, 1945, Donaueschingen, Germany
Nationality: German
Style: Neo-Expressionism
Influences: German history, mythology, literature
Major Exhibitions: "Margarethe" (1981), "Ways of Worldly Wisdom" (1976-77), "The Orders of the Night" (1996)
Quote: "Art is a wound turned into light."
This painting is part of a series inspired by Paul Celan's poem "Death Fugue," which deals with the Holocaust. The painting features a landscape rendered in thick impasto, with straw embedded in the paint, evoking a sense of scorched earth. The name "Margarethe" (a common German name) is inscribed on the painting, referencing a character in Celan's poem.
