Abstract

For Ernst Kantorowicz, images of history carry images that are vehicles for evoking mental or conceptual images. The consideration of the historical image, with its broad spectrum of methodological, cognitive, aesthetic and ethical issues, runs throughout his work. Kantorowicz explicitly distinguishes between historical research (Geschichtsforschung) and historiography (Geschichtsschreibung) conceived as an art form aimed at storytelling and the creation of images (Bilder) and myths. Starting from Kantorowicz’s correspondence with Fritz Saxl and his friendship with Erwin Panofsky, the article aims to address the function of images in Kantorowicz’s texts and analyze his metabolization of Aby Warburg’s reflections