Tag: Art
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La serenissima and India
La serenissima and India La Serenissima, ‘the most serene Republic of Venice’, was a dominant trading power during the Middle Ages and Renaissance, not only in the Mediterranean but as far as the Middle East and Asia. That’s why we see on one of Kiefer’s paintings which he made for the exhibition in 2022 in…
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Tidal wave
Tidal wave “It sometimes happens that there is a convergence between past and present moments, and as they come together one experiences something of that stillness in the hollow of a wave about to break.” (Anselm Kiefer) In the past, Venice was a formidable maritime power whose ships triumphed over turbulent seas. Now, with the…
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Vintage Kiefer
Vintage Kiefer The enormous paintings that – for the time of the exhibition – covered the painted walls of the Sala dello Scrutinio in the Palazzo Ducale in 2022 consist not just of paint on canvas. Whole bicycles, shopping trolleys, clothes and, of course, little submarines are attached to the canvasses. But it’s through the…
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Questi scritti, …
Questi scritti, … … quando verrano bruciati, daramo finalmente un po’di luce : These writings, when burned, will finally cast a little light. That’s the title Kiefer gave to his exhibition of paintings in the Palazzo Ducale in Venice in 2022, coinciding with the Biennale of that year. It’s a line taken from a text by…
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Medieval wood carving
Medieval wood carving On the underside of the hinged seats of the choir stalls in medieval churches often a ‘misericord’ was carved, a small wooden seat on which the clergyman could lean while he was supposed to stand during long parts of the different services. So normally a misericord was hidden from view, either because…
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Nang Sida strip
Nang Sida strip Nang Sida (Sita), wife of Prince Phra Ram (Rama), is enjoying herself alone in the beautiful natural surroundings of the palace. Then Thotsakan (Ravana), the king of the demons, appears to her and abducts her to his palace in Lanka. A dramatic event in the Ramakien visualised as an enchanting strip. Photos…
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Ramakien landscapes
Ramakien landscapes The rice fields, the trees and bushes, the mountains, they are all painted in great detail, as is the palace with its inhabitants and visitors in the foreground. It’s the style of realist miniature painting applied to the large format of the gallery walls. I find it interesting that the landscape on the…
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Picturesque Ramakien
Picturesque Ramakien A must see in Bangkok: the Ramayana in its Thai version, painted as a picture story on the walls around the temple of the Emerald Buddha inside the Grand Palace. Hundreds of meters of detailed paintings, the oldest dating from late 18th century, show us scenes from the Ramayana in the style and…
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Apparition of Mahadeva between the grass
Apparition of Mahadeva between the grass As if he is coming to the surface from the depths of the Earth. We recognize him as a copy of the magnificent sculpture in the Elephanta cave near Mumbai. Mahadeva the primordial god, embodying Shiva and Parvati, male and female.The original sculpture figures in my film “In the…
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Madonna dell’Orto
Madonna dell’Orto In the Chiesa della Madonna dell’Orto in Venice we can admire Tintoretto’s “The Apparition of the Cross to Saint Peter”. The whirling movements of the angels and the recoiling figure of Saint Peter are full of dynamic action. The painting dates from c.1556. What a contrast with the altar piece from c.1495 that…
καιρός remembered 