At the beginning: Anselm Kiefer and the Photography

The first book to consider Kiefer’s photography and use of photographs in his wider artistic practice.

Known for his monumental painting and installations, the internationally celebrated artist Anselm Kiefer’s works are marked by a constant questioning of history and collective memory. Born in Germany two months before the Nazi capitulation in 1945, Kiefer’s reflections on post-war identity, loss, and shared experience, nourished by myths and literature, create an unparalleled breadth of imagery.

The use of photography as both practice and source material is a little-known aspect of Kiefer’s art that has played a central role throughout his career. This book presents over 130 works charting the artist’s relationship with photography, and his investigations into what images reveal.