简介：AbyWarburg,(1866-1929),anarthistorianofstartlingoriginality,camefromtherenownedWarburgbankingfamilyofHamburg,Germany.Alreadyinhisteens,thefirstofsevenchildren,hemadeadealwithhisnextoldestbrother,toforfeithisbirthrighttotakeoverthefamilybankinexchangeforfullfinancialsupportinbuyingallthebooksthathewouldeverwant.Thelibraryheassembledwouldbecomearefugeofscholarship.In1933,withtheNazitakeoverandthedeprivationofJewishrights,60,000books,photographs,andpaperswereshippedtoLondontobecometheWarburgLibraryandInstituteeventuallyhousedattheUniversityofLondon. ThisdocumentaryonthelifeandworkofAbyWarburg,tracesthedevelopmentofhisideasintheirhistoricalcontext.FromhisearlystudiesontheearlyItalianRenaissancetohisventuresintheAmericanSouthwestobservingHopiandZuniritualdancesin1895,WarburgsoughtthelegacyofancientGreeceintheimagesandsymbolsofcultures,whichhefollowedthroughiconographicstudiesthathepioneered.Hesoughtconnectionsbetweengestureandartinantiquity,theRenaissanceandmoderntimes.UnderneaththeseemingrationalityofantiquityandtheRenaissance,hesensedconflictandirrationality. AbyWarburgnevertookanacademicpositionbutpursuedhisinterestsandcollectionofbookswithpassion.RecurrentdepressionsleadtohospitalizationinapsychiatricclinicinSwitzerland1921-1924.Forthelastfiveyearsofhislife,hegaveoccasionallecturesandseminars,butpublishingalmostnothing.Mostnotably,hedevelopedapictureatlas,Mnemosyne,(thepersonificationofMemoryinGreekmythology,)consistingof60woodenpanelswithsome1000imagesarrangedaccordingtothemesandjuxtapositions,concerningmemory,astrologyandmythology,archeology,migrationoftheancientgods,vehiclesoftradition,irruptionofantiquity,Dionysiacformulaeofemotions,NikeandFortuna,Durer,thebaroque,thereemergenceofantiquity,Manet,theclassicaltraditiontoday. TheprincipalmotifsofWarburg’sscholarshiparediscussedbyleadingarthistoriansinEngland,USandGermany,includingProfessorsMichaelDiers,UweFleckner,DavidFreedberg,andJosephKoerner.FilmingtookplaceinLondonandHamburg. Thisfilmshouldbeofinteresttoanyoneinterestedinthehistoryofideas,arthistory,socialandculturalhistory.…