“Where Have All the Flowers Gone” - the title of a 1955 song composed by Pete Seeger and later made famous by Marlene Dietrich - gives its name to the exhibition dedicated to renowned German artist Anselm Kiefer, co-organized by two of Amsterdam’s most prestigious institutions: the Van Gogh Museum and the Stedelijk Museum.
The song’s haunting lyrics inspired Kiefer, an artist known for his powerful denunciations of the absurdity of war. In a world increasingly marred by conflict and warfare, his themes are more relevant than ever.
To mark this special occasion, Kiefer, who turned 80 on March 8, created a monumental new work specifically for the grand staircase hall of the Stedelijk Museum. Spanning 24 meters in length and nearly 7 meters in height, the piece is a complex and visually charged indictment of war. As curator Leontine Coelewij explains:
“If you look at the panels lining the staircase walls, you’ll see at the base a layer made from numerous uniforms, covered in paint and clay, stuffed with straw. They are the remnants of soldiers—people who are no longer with us. Above them, women at work appear. Another striking element is the presence of portraits of Greek philosophers. Kiefer alludes to the passage of time, the fleeting nature of life, the inevitability of change, and the idea that there is always a new beginning. Life and death are intertwined. This is what makes the work feel so urgent and timely. The experience is heightened by Marlene Dietrich’s voice echoing through the space.”
Art in the shadow of history
Born in 1945, Anselm Kiefer emerged as an artist during a time when postwar Germany largely avoided confronting its Nazi past. Kiefer, however, found it essential to address this difficult history head-on, often through provocative works that included controversial imagery—such as the Nazi salute. He drew early and lasting inspiration from the poetry of Paul Celan, to whom he dedicated a remarkable exhibition in Paris in 2021.
For many years, Kiefer’s work was met with resistance in Germany. But the Netherlands embraced him—first through private collectors, and later through institutions like the Stedelijk Museum, which began acquiring his works in the 1980s. Many of these acquisitions now feature in this major Amsterdam retrospective.
Two museums, one exhibition
This dual exhibition spans two venues. At the Stedelijk, the focus is on war and memory. At the Van Gogh Museum, the dialogue shifts to Kiefer’s engagement with Vincent van Gogh.
In the accompanying catalogue essay, In Van Gogh’s Footsteps, Kiefer recounts a formative journey he took at age 18, visiting the Dutch, Belgian, and French towns where Van Gogh lived and painted. He reflects on Van Gogh’s late works, particularly those structured around three elemental zones: sky, wheat field, and footpath. The simplicity of these compositions left a deep impression on him.
Visitors begin the Van Gogh Museum section with the master’s modest-sized works, only to be overwhelmed by Kiefer’s monumental responses, some stretching 7 to 8 meters long and nearly 3 meters high. Imagine a sunflower or a starry night rendered on a colossal scale.
Kiefer, master of visual confrontation
Anselm Kiefer is a master of the visual challenge, as art critic Maria Rus Bojan aptly notes:
“Indeed, he draws inspiration from Van Gogh’s restless spirit, a tension that reverberates through his own artistic universe. Kiefer amplifies Van Gogh’s aesthetic, makes it immense. He is more a master of total scenography than a painter in the classical sense. His works are not purely aesthetic—quite the opposite. They are anti-aesthetic, but it is precisely their monumental nature that provokes and confronts the viewer. Kiefer is less a traditional painter than a maestro of visual confrontation.”
This extraordinary exhibition, to visit in Amsterdam until June 9, is undoubtedly one of the most significant museum events of the year in the Netherlands. It stands alongside the much-anticipated retrospective of Constantin Brâncuși, set to open in September at the H’Art Museum.
