Anselm Kiefer’s painting “Die Meistersinger” is a monumental artwork that was created in 1981-82. The painting is oil, acrylic paint, resin, straw, and paper on linen and measures 110 1/4 in. × 149 3/4 in. (280.04 cm × 380.37 cm). According to records at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA), the work belongs to the Doris and Donald Fisher Collection.
Kiefer is a celebrated figure in the Neo-Expressionist art movement known for his approach to subjects that deal with German history and national identity. His use of mixed media techniques creates artworks with strong textures such as coal ash, hair strips of lead or poppy like “Lilith” (1987-1990). Kiefer’s work explores Germany’s trauma from its past experiences such as the Nazi era.
The painting “Die Meistersinger” encapsulates this theme by distilling some of history’s darkest realities into expressionistic brushwork., It captures psychological anxieties experienced today when recalling historical atrocities toppling an emotive representation that summons emotional resonance from viewers towards this artwork representing somberness around World War II experiences like authoritarianism carried out under dictatorship or war time events affecting humanity either directly or indirectly through its effects.
