A regular sequence of columns and arches is suddenly interrupted by a flash of light: a winged figure hovers against a golden background, almost trying to take flight through the rectangle of the sky that opens onto the building. This is not a religious icon resurfaced from distant centuries: Engelssturz (Fall of the Angel, 2022-23) is, in fact, a new site-specific work made by the artist Anselm Kiefer for the courtyard of Palazzo Strozzi in Florence, where his major art exhibition Anselm Kiefer. Fallen Angels is currently on view. The exhibition presents the renowned German master’s practice, taking us on a journey through the highs and lows of human existence and is enriched by layered references to mythology, history, literature, philosophy and poetry. According to the curator Arturo Galansino, the nature of the artist’s work is “epic” and is now finding its ideal frame within the Florentine palace, which left its mark on the artist's imagination when he was still a teenager. Originally designed by Benedetto da Maiano and later by Simone del Pollaiolo, Palazzo Strozzi (1489-1538) is considered a significant example of a Renaissance stately mansion and one of Florence's most iconic architectural masterpieces.

Born in 1945 in Donaueschingen, Germany, Kiefer studied law and romance languages, later pursuing a fine arts education in Freiburg, Karlsruhe and Düsseldorf. Known for his wide exploration across diverse media, including painting, sculpture, photography, woodcut, installations and architecture, he started to gain international recognition when he represented West Germany alongside Georg Baselitz at the Venice Biennale in 1980. Kiefer has often addressed the sense of tragedy that characterises the experience of humankind and has broached the horrors of the Third Reich, as well as the challenges of post-war Germany, while also offering glimmers of hope, which continues in his current exhibition. After having already confronted a strong historical architecture in his 2022 exhibition at Palazzo Ducale (Doge’s Palace) in Venice, he is now reflecting on another important Italian monument. While the exhibition in Venice set the artist's paintings in dialogue with sumptuous gilding and bright colours, the almost monochrome interiors of Palazzo Strozzi offer a more rigorous, but no less evocative context. Galansino remarks on this contrast, mentioning the traditional distinction between the “emphasis on drawing” of the Florentine Renaissance and the “vibrant palette” of the Venetian Renaissance (as originally theorised by the 16th century painter, architect and art historian Giorgio Vasari).

The exhibition begins with Engelssturz and takes inspiration from the fight between the archangel Michael and the rebel angels described in the Book of Revelation, the final book of the Bible’s New Testament. A similar topic is evoked by the painting Luzifer (Lucifer, 2012-23), which is the first work displayed on the Piano Nobile (main floor): here the impact of the rebel angel into the abyss spreads outside the canvas in the form of an aeroplane wing, a direct reference to the disruption caused by war. Re-emerging from these leaden stratifications, the following room welcomes the visitor with a luminous field of sunflowers: a tribute to the French avant-garde artist, actor and dramaturgist Antonin Artaud (1896-1948) and his volume Héliogabale ou l’anarchiste couronné (Heliogabalus or the crowned anarchist, 1934). During his rule, the Roman emperor Heliogabalus introduced the worship of the Sol Invictus (invincible Sun) as an alternative to the Latin god Jupiter. His brief existence, interrupted by a conspiracy at the age of nineteen, embodies the precariousness of power. At the same time, the sunflower symbolises the human propensity to strive towards light even in the darkest times: in this regard, Kiefer stated, “[My] perception of nature has always been intertwined with human history. Painting nature in isolation isn’t feasible; it must be understood in the context of historical events, such as wars.”

The recurring dualism between matter and spirit comes from Kiefer’s interest in philosophy, as we can see in La Scuola di Atene (The School of Athens, 2022), a homage to Socratic philosophy as well as to Raphael’s eponymous fresco (1509-1511) at the Vatican Museums. The stratification of materials such as oil, acrylic, shellac and gold leaf wraps the figures of the philosophers in almost metallic draperies, transforming the scene into the trace of an event suspended in time. In contrast to post-Socratic philosophy, which mostly focused on issues related to human knowledge, other works such as Vor Sokrates (Before Socrates, 2022) reflect on primordial elements of nature. The large woodcut Hortus Philosophorum (The Garden of Philosophers, 1997-2011) is a further tribute to the sunflower, here interpreted through the perspective of the English philosopher and scientist Robert Fludd (1574-1637), according to whom each plant had a corresponding star in heaven.

The following section is devoted to Kiefer’s famous “vitrines”. Containing diverse materials within transparent membranes of glass and steel, the vitrines encapsulate iconographic fragments of religion and mythology, spanning Nordic to Mediterranean traditions. While these artworks remain isolated from the surrounding context, the immersive painting installation Verstrahlte Bilder (Irradiated Paintings, 1983-2023) expands into the architectural space up to the ceiling. This expansion is optically reinforced by table-like mirrors placed in the centre of the room, while the whole display is reminiscent of European traditions such as the 17th century Italian “quadreria” or the 19th century French “salon”. After being exposed to physical and chemical deterioration, these 60 “Irradiated Paintings” embody the fragility and instability of the human condition.

At the end of the exhibition, the series Heroische Sinnbilder (Heroic Symbols, 2009) explores several European locations, including sites occupied by the German army during the Second World War. In these lead-printed photographs, Kiefer provocatively questions the history of his homeland. The last wall amplifies humanity's loneliness in the face of the tragedy of history through the famous verses written in 1930 by the Italian poet Salvatore Quasimodo (1901-1968): “Ognuno sta solo sul cuore della terra/trafitto da un raggio di sole:/ed è subito sera” (Everyone stands alone at the heart of the earth/pierced by a ray of sunlight/and immediately it is evening).