Anselm Kiefer was born on 8 March 1945 in Donaueschingen, Baden-Württemberg. After law studies at Freiburg, he studied art there, then at Karlsruhe under Horst Antes and Düsseldorf under Joseph Beuys. Kiefer's early work encompassed Conceptual and Performance art, but he returned to painting in the 1970s. He is regarded as a leading artist of the Expressionist revival of the 1980s, known for his weighty considerations on themes of Germany's history and its Nazi past. Myths of culture and religion, especially Old Testament subjects, are another, related, concern. He works on a large scale, often combining sculpture and painting to monumental effect. Kiefer's use of materials extends to industrial and natural elements such as sand, straw and wood. Perhaps his best-known work is Zweistromland [The High Priestess] 1985-89, a construction of more than 200 massive lead books on steel shelves. Kiefer left Germany in 1991 and has lived in France since 1992.