Das Geviert

1997

Anselm Kiefer German, born 1945

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Catalogue Raisonné

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About the Artwork

The architectural structure in this monumental painting was likely inspired by a brickworks that Kiefer saw while traveling in India. That building was in a perpetual state of construction and destruction: newly made bricks were stacked on top of it and then replaced as they were sold. Plumes of smoke suggest the fires within. Taken out of its socio-historical context, this building becomes an allegory of ephemerality. The stepped pyramidal form recalls the tombs of the Egyptian pharaohs, Babylonian ziggurats, and Meso-American teocalli, all remnants of ancient cultures. The words in the corners translate to earth (upper right), sky (upper left), divinity (lower right), and mortals (lower left), which are the fundamental elements of German philosopher Martin Heidegger’s (1889–1976) concept of “das Geviert” (the square), a hymn to dwelling on the earth articulated in “Building, Dwelling, Thinking” (1954). From Bulletin of the Detroit Institute of Arts 89 (2015)

Title Das Geviert

Artwork Date 1997

Artist Anselm Kiefer

Life Dates born 1945

Nationality Please note: Definitions for nationality may vary significantly, depending on chronology and world events. Some definitions include: Belonging to a people having a common origin based on a geography and/or descent and/or tradition and/or culture and/or religion and/or language, or sharing membership in a legally defined nation. German

Culture Please note: Cultures may be defined by the language, customs, religious beliefs, social norms, and material traits of a group. Unknown

Medium Emulsion, acrylic, shellac, burnt clay, clay, wire, and sand on three panels of stretched linen or linen and cotton canvas

Dimensions Overall: 110 1/2 inches × 24 feet 7 1/4 inches × 3 inches (280.7 cm × 7 m 49.9 cm × 7.6 cm)

Classification Paintings

Department Contemporary Art after 1950

Credit Museum Purchase, W. Hawkins Ferry Fund and partial gift of the Sosnick Family in memory of Robert Sosnick

Accession Number This unique number is assigned to an individual artwork as part of the cataloguing process at the time of entry into the permanent collection. Most frequently, accession numbers begin with the year in which the artwork entered the museum’s holdings. For example, 2008.3 refers to the year of acquisition and notes that it was the 3rd of that year. The DIA has a few additional systems—no longer assigned—that identify specific donors or museum patronage groups. 2003.20

Markings

Inscriptions Upper left: Himmel (Heaven) upper right: Erde (Earth) upper center: Das Geviert 6 7 (Square or Four-square) lower left: die Sterblichen (Mortals) lower right: die Gottlichen (Gods)

Provenance

The Gagosian Gallery, SoHo, New York 1997-1998

Collection of Robert and Susan Sosnick, Bloomfield Hills, MI 1998-2003

For more information on provenance and its important function in the museum, please visit:

Provenance page

Exhibition History

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The exhibition history of a number of objects in our collection only begins after their acquisition by the museum, and may reflect an incomplete record.

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Published References

Huyssen, A. "Anselm Kiefer: The Terror of History, the Temptation of Myth." October 48 (Spring 1989): 25-45.

Frankel, D. "Anselm Kiefer." Art Forum (May 1998): 144.

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Catalogue Raisoneé

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Credit Line for Reproduction

Anselm Kiefer, Das Geviert, 1997, emulsion, acrylic, shellac, burnt clay, clay, wire, and sand on three panels of stretched linen or linen and cotton canvas. Detroit Institute of Arts, Museum Purchase, W. Hawkins Ferry Fund and partial gift of the Sosnick Family in memory of Robert Sosnick, 2003.20.