Wer jetzt kein Haus hat, baut sich keines mehr-für R.M. Rilke

Anselm Kiefer is an important representative of German Neo-Expressionism and one of the most internationally influential contemporary artists. Drawing on mythology, poetry, and mysticism, he transforms unconventional materials into alchemical fusions, turning reflections on postwar German history and the depths of human experience into symbols of destruction and rebirth. This artwork takes its inspiration from the imagery in Rilke’s poem Herbsttag (Autum Day)—when the vast glow of summer has withdrawn, those who have no home now will savor the last sweetness pressed from ripened fruit, and wander restlessly through the avenues as the leaves are driven. In the painting, branches, withered leaves, and faded flowers layered from unconventional materials such as lead, rope, shellac, together with oil and acrylic, obscure a pale sky, reflecting the passing of humanity’s radiant summer, while also summoning us to walk through the heavy autumn of the present, nurturing hope for rebirth amid uncertainty.