An expert’s guide to Anselm Kiefer Five must-read books on the German artist . (This link opens in a new tab).

By José da Silva 

The German artist Anselm Kiefer turns 80 this year and several shows will mark the occasion. A survey of early works at the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford this month will be followed in March by an exhibition spread across the Van Gogh Museum and Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam. The former will look at the influence of Vincent van Gogh on Kiefer's work, while the latter will debut a new 24m-long installation.

Below, the Van Gogh Museum director Emilie Gordenker and her fellow curator Edwin Becker have joined forces with the Stedelijk curator Leontine Coelewij to select five key books to help us understand more about Kiefer and his work.