‘Aby Warburg’s Pathosformel as methodological paradigm’

Abstract

This paper explores the differing positions Warburg occupies within Humanities and Social Sciences fields to demonstrate his cross-disciplinary relevance. While the Bilderatlas Mnemosyne, his major work concerning Pathosformeln, was never complete and his conceptualization of the Pathosformel was fairly indefinite, his theoretical paradigms nonetheless provide models for scholars working with visual culture. As a case study, the national personification ‘Germania’ is used to test the applicability of his ideas within an interdisciplinary context.

Keywords

• Aby Warburg
• Pathosformel
• Germania
• visual culture
• cultural memory
• national personifications
• Social Democratic Party
• Arbeiterkultur
• cultural studies
• German nationalism
• national monuments
• nineteenth-century mass media