Tangled paths: a life of Aby Warburg

Uittreksel

An intimate biography of an eminent historian of art and culture, exploring his life both within and away from the academy. Tangled Paths tells the life story of Aby Warburg (1866-1929), one of the most influential historians of art and culture of the twentieth century. It also tells the story of a man who, throughout his life, struggled to assert his place in the world. Charting Warburg's many projects and identities - groundbreaking historian, public intellectual, ethnographer, shrewd academic administrator, and founder of a library - the book explores not only the vagaries of an academic career but also the personal demons of a man who relentlessly sought to live up to his own expectations. In this biography - the first in English in over fifty years - Hans C. Hönes presents an evocative and richly detailed portrait of Warburg's personality and career, and of his attempts to make sense of the tangled paths of his life.

Inhoud

1. A Life in Retrospect -- 2. Becoming an Art Historian -- 3. Travels in the World of Symbols -- 4. Voices from the Past -- 5. Itineraries: Warburg's Destiny -- 6. Hamburg: The Making of a Public-Private Scholar -- 7. Fighting Border-Guard Mentality -- 8. In Turmoil: Reassembling Life -- 9. The Tower -- 10. 'Mnemosyne': Warburg's Curtain Call -- 11. Alpha and Omega -- References -- Select Bibliography -- Acknowledgements -- Photo Acknowledgements -- Index