The Women Alchemists — a new Anselm Kiefer exhibition opens at Palazzo Reale, Milan

Anselm Kiefer’s monumental The Women Alchemists exhibition is now on view at Palazzo Reale, Milan, from February 7th to September 27th, 2026. This immersive presentation is part of the city’s vibrant 2026 cultural program and showcases Kiefer’s site-specific exploration of history, painting, and female memory.

Anselm Kiefer exhibition: a tribute to forgotten women alchemists

Conceived specifically for the Sala delle Cariatidi, the exhibition features forty-two large-scale canvases designed to dialogue with the hall’s dramatic architecture, marked by the scars of the 1943 bombing. Kiefer’s works pay homage to women alchemists whose contributions to early science and knowledge have long been overlooked, bringing their stories to life through textured, towering canvases.

Featured works and concepts

These monumental centrepieces evoke figures emerging from layered blues, golds, and blacks, interacting with symbolic plants, books, and alchemical motifs. Kiefer interprets the alchemical motto Obscurum per obscurius (“the obscure through the more obscure”), creating a reflective space that merges myth, history, and memory.

Several canvases present faces and bodies as apparitions, offering a meditation on the fragility and resilience of knowledge. Each painting becomes an act of resurrection, celebrating the intelligence and creativity of women whose legacies were suppressed but essential to the development of modern thought.

Milan art exhibitions: a must-see cultural experience

Curated by Gabriella Belli, The Women Alchemists stands out as one of the most unmissable Milan art exhibitions of 2026. Part of the city’s Winter Games cultural program, the show offers visitors a monumental encounter with contemporary artistic practice intertwined with history and memory.