Osiris and Isis 1987

Anselm Kiefer made this painting, Osiris and Isis, by layering paint and other materials onto the canvas, creating a landscape that feels both ancient and monumental. I can imagine Kiefer working on this, wrestling with the paint, coaxing it into these rough, horizontal strata, each layer a testament to time and transformation. The color palette is earthy, all browns and blacks, like scorched earth or the inside of a tomb. The paint is thick, almost sculptural, and those shards of material embedded in the surface give it a tactile quality, as though you could reach out and touch the past. Think about how the layering of paint mimics the geological strata of the earth, each line a whisper of history, myth, and memory. There is a feeling of ruin, but also one of resilience. Kiefer reminds us that creation and destruction are part of a single, continuous cycle. Like the work of other painters, Kiefer uses paint to create something evocative and loaded with feeling. It leaves you with more questions than answers.