In this exhibition, which marks the artist’s return to Naples, the Minnesanger - Walther von der Vogelweide - and one of his most famous ballads - Unter den Linden - are an inspiration for a tribute to Lia Rumma.
A medieval lyric poet who wrote in German, Walther (as he is commonly referred to by historians) was one of those who brought new life to the spirit and forms of courtly love in lyrical poetry. Shunning artifice and high-blown rhetoric, his poetry conveys images of real life, toning down both the bluster and the symbolism explored in early Minnesang.
Kiefer has clearly recognized these literary atmospheres as akin to his own and he has used them as the basis for his own story, and for the new series of works on show.
The exhibition opens with a group of books in which the irrepressible presence of flowers, on painted canvas pages, alludes to festive Nature, as celebrated by the poet. Similarly, two large paintings appear as the setting for the encounter eulogized by von der Vogelweide, which took place unter den Linden - in the shade of a lime tree - the tree most familiar and dearest to the Germanic spirit.
As in many of his landscapes, Kiefer chooses the point of view in such a way as to draw us into the work. In this case, we are invited to cross the moor and to go under the lime tree in order to take in all the beauty of the landscape and to participate in the joy of the encounter. An encounter as successful and long-lasting as the one between Anselm Kiefer and Lia Rumma.

Press release