Joseph Beuys

Untitled

About this artwork

Sitting among the scientific and mathematical notations and facing each other as if in conversation, we see the shapes of two hares, painted in gold. For Beuys, gold was associated with alchemy and myth. The hare is an animal which also carries mythological associations. It is sacred to the Germanic spring goddess Ase and has been connected with the resurrection by Christians since medieval times. Beuys associated the animal with birth, the earth and with women. He was so fascinated with the hare that he once owned a Bentley which had a hare as an ornament on the bonnet.

Updated before 2020

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  • artist:
    Joseph Beuys (1921 - 1986) German
  • title:
    Untitled
  • date created:
    1964
  • materials:
    Oil paint, gold paint, ink and graphite on paper
  • measurements:
    29.50 x 20.80 cm
  • object type:
  • credit line:
    ARTIST ROOMS National Galleries of Scotland and Tate. Acquired jointly through The d'Offay Donation with assistance from the National Heritage Memorial Fund and Art Fund, 2008
  • accession number:
    AR00662
  • gallery:
  • artwork photographed by:
    Antonia Reeve
This artwork is part of Artist Rooms
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Joseph Beuys

Joseph Beuys