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Anselm Kiefer (German, 1945-)
Lot's Wife, 1989
Oil paint, ash, stucco, chalk, linseed oil, polymere emulsion, salt and applied elements (e.g., copper heating coil), on canvas, attached to lead foil, on plywood panels, 11 _ x 14 feet
Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund 1990.8
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The Conservation Approach to Kiefer's Painting
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| Detail of brittle, cracked paint with varying amounts of grit and debris |
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The techniques and materials used in this painting have rendered it fragile. The brittle, cracked paint with varying amounts of grit and debris mixed in,
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| Detail of fragments of burned canvas adhered to lead |
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the fragments of burned canvas adhered to lead, and the thin deposits of evaporated salt distributed on the upper sheet of lead, are all delicate parts of the painting that are insecure and vulnerable to continuing deterioration over time.
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| Detail of painted canvas in the process of peeling off the lead support, of salt deposits flaking and turning brown in certain areas |
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Yet these elements are central to the expression and the iconography of the painting. They instill it with meaning by being in the process of change themselves, or at least appearing to be in various states of alteration. The appearance of painted canvas in the process of peeling off the lead support, of salt deposits flaking and turning brown in certain areas, and of deep fissures developing in the heavy paint layers, are important to Kiefer's rendition of metamorphosis, and of the changes and alteration inherent in the painting's art materials to express the passage of time.
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| Detail of consolidated paint elements |
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In a situation like this, the art conservator must respect the intent of the artist to develop an approach to the conservation of the painting. Kiefer himself has made it abundantly clear to museums and conservators that his works should be allowed to change and even deteriorate over time. Therefore, a certain degree of change, normally prevented or retarded in most works of art, is permitted to occur in this painting. The actual loss of material is, however, minimized as much as possible. Elements of paint seriously cracked and in danger of being lost altogether have been painstakingly consolidated with small amounts of adhesive so that they adhere to the overall painting in their present precarious visual state.
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Page 3 of 3 | On the next page:
About the Painting
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