Kiefer Leviathan Appraisal

Leviathan by Anselm Kiefer

This is a significant mixed-media work created in 2000 by the renowned German neo-expressionist artist Anselm Kiefer. The piece displays the artist's signature use of heavy, industrial, and organic materials, featuring a massive, heavily textured surface. The composition incorporates a three-dimensional lead model of a submarine, likely a U-boat, mounted onto the lower third of the canvas over a parched, cracked earth-like texture of dried clay or thick impasto. The upper section of the work transition into a swirling, celestial or oceanic atmosphere composed of lead, ash, and oil paint in muted tones of grey, black, and sepia. The word 'Leviathan' is inscribed in the artist's distinctive cursive script in the upper-left quadrant, referencing the biblical sea monster and historical political philosophy. The work shows intended aging and weathering as part of its aesthetic, including crackle patterns (craquelure), oxidized metallic surfaces, and rough, uneven edges. The sculptural submarine element is finished with a dull, leaden patina. This piece is representative of Kiefer's late 20th and early 21st-century style, which meditates on history, memory, and mythology through monumental scale and tactile, physically dense construction.