Details

Title

Dragon (Drache)

Artist/Maker

Anselm Kiefer (German, born 1945)

Date

2001

Medium

Oil emulsion on lead and canvas

Dimensions

185 x 220 1/2 inches

Credit

Purchase with High Museum of Art Enhancement Fund

Accession #

2003.5

Location

Currently not on view

Having developed a passion for ancient myth as a student, Anselm Kiefer set out on an artistic investigation of the ways that sagas may be connected to a collective consciousness. His understanding, made clear in Dragon (Drache), concerns the relevance of complex combinations of religious and philosophical ideas to current culture. The monumental composition involves waves and the stars of the constellation Drache burning above, referring to the mythical beast that appears in the lore of many cultures, invariably as a sign of evil. Thus Kiefer alludes to an overarching theme of inherent evil pervading the human condition.

Image Copyright

© Anselm Kiefer