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Mythic Themes from the Nibelungenlied, Sturluson’S the Prose Edda

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Mythic Themes from the Nibelungenlied, Sturluson’S the Prose Edda MYTHIC THEMES FROM THE NIBELUNGENLIED, STURLUSON’S THE PROSE EDDA, AND WAGNER’S RING OF THE NIBELUNGS MADE CONTEMPORARY IN ANSELM KIEFER’S ARTWORKS A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS ART HISTORY IN THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE TEXAS WOMAN’S UNIVERSITY DEPARTMENT OF VISUAL ARTS COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES BY LINDSEY DUNNAGAN B.E.D., M.F.A., M.A. DENTON, TEXAS MAY 2015 Copyright © Lindsey Dunnagan, 2015 all rights reserved. iii DEDICATION For my mother and father Patricia and Chuck Dunnagan, my brother Samuel Dunnagan, and my aunt Susie Barber. Thank you for your love and support. iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to thank the many people who have helped me through the process of editing my thesis, including my major professor, Dr. John Calabrese, my committee members, Vance Wingate and Gary Washmon, and the graduate school at Texas Woman’s University. v ABSTRACT LINDSEY DUNNAGAN MYTHIC THEMES FROM THE NIBELUNGENLIED, STURLUSON’S THE PROSE EDDA, AND WAGNER’S RING OF THE NIBELUNGS MADE CONTEMPORARY IN ANSELM KIEFER’S ARTWORKS MAY 2015 The purpose of this study was to explore how Anselm Kiefer resurrects the Nordic myths of Brunhilde and Siegfried by illustrating terrible events from World War II in his artwork. Hitler adulterated the memory of Nordic myth when he used these sources of German pride to further his elitist and hateful ideals. In contrast, Kiefer takes these same myths and casts Hitler and his actions as the villain. Kiefer pushes his art further, however, and questions the assumption of Siegfried’s purity, sometimes depicting this hero as villainous as well. The resulting morass brings into question a larger statement about perception, duplicity, and the impurity of human nature. To study this topic, a total of eight paintings have been chosen for careful analysis and the research for these works has been gathered through scholarly journals, books, and professional online sources. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Page COPYRIGHT ……..……………………………………………………………………………………………….. iii DEDICATION ……..……………………………………………………………………………………………… iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ……..……………………………………………………………………………........ v ABSTRACT ………………..…………………………………………………………………………………….. viii LIST OF TABLES ……………..…………………………………………………………………...…………….. ix LIST OF FIGURES ……..…………………………………………………………………………………........... x PREFACE ……………..……………………………………………………………………………………………. xi Chapter I PROSPECTUS ……..…………………………………………………………………………………………….. 1 Problem ……..…………………………………………………………………………………………… 1 Purpose ……..…………………………………………………………………………………….……… 1 Significance ……..……………………………………………………………………………………… 2 Literature Review ……..…………………………………………………………………………….. 3 Methodology ……..……………………………………………………………………………………. 9 Limitations ……..…………………………………………………………………………………….. 10 Definition of Terms ……..………………………………………………………………………… 11 II THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN WAGNER AND THE NAZI REGIME AND ITS RELEVANCE TO ANSELM KIEFER’S WORK ……..……………………………………...………. 12 Nazi Regime and its Relationship with Wagner ……..………………………………... 13 Postwar German Art……..………………………………………………………………………... 18 What Led Kiefer to This Body of Work ……..…………………………………………….. 19 German and American Perceptions of and Reactions to Kiefer’s Artwork .... 21 III THEMES OF BETRAYAL AND THE CLEANSING POWER OF FIRE IN STORIES OF BRUNHILDE AND SIEGFRIED USED IN ANSELM KIEFER’S PAINTINGS TO vii PARALLEL EVENTS IN WORLD WAR II ……..………………………………………………..... 25 Narrative Background and Differences in The Nibelungenlied, Sturluson’s The Prose Edda, and Wagner’s Ring of the Nibelungs Regarding Betrayal in Kiefer’s Paintings ……..……………………………………………………………………………. 25 Paintings that Explore the Cleansing Power of Fire and Death and How This Relates to World War II ……..………………………………………………………...… 32 IV KIEFER’S PAINTINGS OF BRUNHILDE THAT REFERENCE POLAND’S ROLE IN WORLD WAR II ……..…………………………………………………………………………………….. 41 Poland’s Role in World War II ………………….…………………………………………….. 41 Similarities Between this History and the Myth of Brunhilde and Siegfried 42 V COMPLETE ANALYSIS OF GERMANY’S SPIRITUAL HEROES (1973) ……..………….. 52 Analysis of the Painting’s Formal Elements ……..………………………………….…... 52 Analysis of the Painting’s References to Nordic Myth, Specifically the Ring of the Nibelungs. ……..……………………………………………………..………………………. 55 Historical Parallels Kiefer Highlights Between Myth and the History of World War II ……..…………………………………………………………………………………... 58 Kiefer’s Personal Connection with this Painting ……..……………………………….. 62 VI CONCLUSION ……..……………………………………………………………………………………….. 65 Brief Summary of Major Points 1. Kiefer’s Work Attempts to Remove the Negative Stigma Associated with German Myth and Historic Figures that the Nazi Regime Used as Propaganda to Further their Goals ..…………………….. 65 2. Kiefer Parallels the Story of Brunhilde and Siegfried to Events in World War II. ……..……………………………………………………………………….. 65 4. How the Painting Germany’s Spiritual Heroes Demonstrates all of the Major Points Discussed in this Thesis. ……..……………………………... 66 By Reinvestigating Nazi Relationships with Myth, Kiefer Calls into Question the Loss of German Pride Once Associated with these Stories. ……..………….. 66 VII FIGURES ……..……………………………………………………………………………………………… 68 WORKS CITED …....……………………………………………………………………………………………. 76 viii LIST OF TABLES TABLE Page 1. Character Spellings Across Texts …………………………………………………………..…. xi ix LIST OF FIGURES Figure Page 1. Siegfried Forgets Brunhilde, c. 1975, Oil on canvas, 130 x 170 cm …………….. 68 2. Siegfried Forgets Brunhilde, c. 1989, Oil on canvas, 173 x 188 cm …………….. 69 3. Brunhilde’s Death, c. 1976, Oil on canvas, 118 x 145 cm ……….……….…………. 70 4. Brunhilde Sleeps, c. 1980, Mixed Media, 58.5 x 83 cm ……….……….……….......... 71 5 . Brunhilde – Grane, c. 1978, Woodcut with oil, 242.5 x 193 cm ……….…………. 72 6. Poland is Not Yet Lost, c. 1978, Oil on Canvas, 170 x 130 cm ……….……………. 73 7. Ride to the Vistula, c. 1980, Oil on Canvas, 130 x 170 cm ……….……….………… 74 8. Germany’s Spiritual Heroes, c. 1873, Oil on Burlap, 307 x 682 cm ……….......... 75 x PREFACE When discussing the stories of Brunhilde and Siegfried in The Nibelungenlied, The Prose Edda, and The Ring of the Nibelungs, many characters have similar roles but different names or slightly different spellings. To lessen confusion, the names from The Ring of the Nibelungs by Richard Wagner will be used throughout this paper. Wagner was revered by Hitler for his use of Norse mythology in his operas. The characters in The Ring of the Nibelungs were chosen because this historical connection ties directly into the topic of the paper. Direct quotes from The Nibelungenlied and The Prose Edda will include original spellings. Please refer to the table below to help clarify relationships across texts. Table 1. Character Spellings Across Texts The Nibelungenlied The Prose Edda The Ring of the Nibelungs Siegfried Sigurdr Siegfried Brunhild Brynhildr Brunhilde King Gunther King Gjuki King Gunther Kriemhild Gurdrun Gutrune Sister to King Gunther King Gjuki’s daughter Sister to King Gunther Hagen Hogni Hagen No mention of No mention of Half brother to Gunther relationship to King relationship to King Gjuki and Gutrune Gunther N/A Reginn Mime xi CHAPTER I PROSPECTUS Problem Richard Wagner’s Ring of the Nibelungs opera, based on The Prose Edda and The Nibelungenlied (The Song of the Nibelungs), explores mythic themes that appear in selected artworks by the artist Anselm Kiefer. Kiefer’s transformation oF these stories into contemporary narratives has not been fully examined. Specifically, he focuses on the struggle between Siegfried and Brunhilde’s doomed love affair and how it translates to certain events during World War II and the mental state of Germany once the war ended. Kiefer “explains that themes such as Siegfried and Brunhilde demonstrate a dismaying conflict between idealism and reality, but in art the two poles can be synthesized” (Rosenthal, Mark 60). Purpose The purpose of this thesis is to examine artworks by Anselm Kiefer that transform aspects of Wagner’s Ring of the Nibelungs, Sturluson’s The Prose Edda and The Nibelungenlied into modern subjects. Kiefer “insists on the need to learn from ancient myths and religions as well as recent tragic events iF we are to deal with that ‘terror of history’ that casts its shadow over our lives” (Wood 7). By investigating Wagner’s The Ring of the Nibelungs, Kiefer’s paintings inspired from the opera begin 1 to reveal hypocrisies and truths that bring enlightenment to modern issues. German themes from World War II such as repression of creativity, the invasion of Poland, and Germany’s relationship with itself are forced into view with this series. Deborah Wye, who included Anselm Kiefer in her book on master works, says that “KieFer has created a large body oF work exploring his nation’s identity and the moral and philosophical issues facing post – World War II Germany.” Significance Wagner’s 19th Century The Ring of the Nibelungs is based on medieval tales about enduring themes of allegiance, deception, sacrifice, and hopeless love. Kiefer brings these themes into modern context by considering Germany’s past and present. He confronts the ugliness of history that many Germans would rather forget. According to Daglind Sonolet, who wrote an analysis on the artist’s works, Kiefer’s “project is to evoke, and at the same time distance, the national past in order to recuperate and make certain German intellectual and artistic traditions fruitful once more.” By using the German opera The Ring of the Nibelungs, the Nordic epic The Prose
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