Anselm Kiefer, Die Krähen (The Crows), 2019. Courtesy of the Artist and White Cube. Photo: Georges Poncet. © Anselm Kiefer.
In 1963, at the age of 18, Anselm Kiefer (b.1945), a young German student from the Black Forest, was awarded a travel grant to retrace the footsteps of one of his artistic heroes: Vincent van Gogh (1853-90). Hitchhiking through the Netherlands, France and Belgium, Kiefer explored the terrain of van Gogh’s paintings. This dialogue has continued throughout his working life, which continues to this day. Using elements of van Gogh’s iconography – notably, sunflowers, wheatfields and starry skies – Kiefer has explored themes of national identity, the legacy of war, and the relationship of humanity and nature.
Coinciding with the arrival of the joint exhibition of the two artists’ works at the Royal Academy in June, this ARTscapades talk with Dr Ben Street discusses this unusual pairing and shows how their paintings illuminate each other’s work.
Kiefer/ Van Gogh is at the Royal Academy of Arts from 28 June to 26 October 2025.
This event will be recorded. Ticket holders are emailed a link to view the recording afterwards which is available for one month. Proceeds from ARTscapades ticket sales benefit museums, galleries and other arts-based organisations and projects.
This is an online event hosted on Zoom which can be watched live with Q&A, or on-demand for one month afterwards. You will receive your link to access the event in your email confirmation and the on-demand link after the event ends.