Anselm Kiefer - "Glaube, hoffnung, liebe" and "Das Wolund-Lied (Mit Flugel)". Art Analysis.

Essay by thecube_128High School, 12th grade October 2005

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Anselm Kiefer's "Glaube, hoffnung, liebe" measures 280.0 x 380.0 x 75.0cm and is a mixed media piece which consists of synthetic polymer paint, shellac on photodocument paper on canvas (linen) with lead. It was started in 1984 and completed in 1986. The background is impasto; the emulsion paint has been built up to create a texture and the brush strokes are clearly visible. The focal point of the piece is the propeller, which is made of lead and has been welded together. The reason behind it being made of lead is that lead is a material that is too heavy for anything to take off in. This shows that Kiefer doesn't like the idea of war and bombings, and it is even more obvious to us because on each of the three blades of the propeller "faith, hope and love" have been engraved. Three is a number that is seen quite a bit, with three lead rocks attached to the piece.

The number three is quite significant because of the 'holy trinity', showing us that Kiefer believes in god. This, together with the lead propeller, shows us that Kiefer is certainly anti-war.

Another piece by Anselm Kiefer, "Das Wulund-Lied (Mit Flugel)" was done in 1982 with oil, emulsion, straw, photo (on projection paper) mounted on canvas with lead wing. The wing represents something that doesn't work anymore because, like the propeller, it's made of lead. This however is a little different to the propeller because it isn't from a machine; it's from some sort of creature, most likely an angel. The reason why it's lead could be because he thinks that people have lost faith in god and so the angel/god/faith doesn't work anymore. This again is referring to the war and his dislike for it. The background...