Aby Warburg and the Anthropological Concept of the Image

• Grant number: 24/14181-1
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Post-doctor
• Start date: February 01, 2025
• End date: January 31, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Linguistics, Literature and Arts - Arts - Art Fundamentals and Criticism
• Principal Investigator: Cássio da Silva Fernandes
• Grantee: Serzenando Alves Vieira Neto
• Supervisor: Tristan Weddigen
• Host Institution: Escola de Filosofia, Letras e Ciências Humanas (EFLCH). Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP). Campus Guarulhos. Guarulhos , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Bibliotheca Hertziana, Italy
• Associated to the scholarship: 22/16114-4 - From the art work history to the science of imagery figuration: Aby Warburg and the anthropological concept of the image, BP.PD

Abstract

This project aims to contribute to the reception of Warburg's work in Brazil by producing critical studies on the theory of the image and publishing a collection of previously untranslated texts in Portuguese with a detailed introduction. By delving into Warburg's correspondence and early works, the project seeks to trace the development of his theoretical thought and explore the intellectual foundations of the construction of his anthropological perspective on the image. This focus leads precisely to Warburg's preoccupation with anthropological questions and the problematization of anthropomorphism, which he developed in close engagement with contemporary debates on language, myth and ethnology. The research internship at the Bibliotheca Hertziana - Max Planck Institute for Art History is proposed as a key opportunity to extend and deepen the ongoing postdoctoral project; a stage that is crucial for refining preliminary conclusions, disseminating results internationally, conducting additional field research, and, most importantly, studying Renaissance artistic culture in situ.