Communication of Ideas
Aby Warburg was an eloquent public speaker and lecturer. His last lecture in Rome was recorded and stands as a witness to his abilities of mimicry and acting. His new insights, theory and approach remained orally transmitted and little was published during his lifetime. Aby Warburg’s work is huge consisting of theorical notions as well as case studies but remains in a preliminary state of notes, letters, fragments. Aby Warburg’s theoretical notions were meant to come together in the Mnemosyne Atlas of Images.
The unfinished project
At the time of his death it comprised 79 wooden panels, covered with black fabric, on which were pinned some 2,000 photographs from Warburg’s collection. Warburg’s final arrangement of the Atlas survives as a series of 79 black and white photographs (18 x 24 cm) photographs. These are held in the archives of the Warburg Institute and are partially published on the website of Cornell University Press and Warburg Institute.
Display of the Bilderreihen and Mnemosyne Atlas
Aby Warburg set up the panels for more visitors over a couple of days. He arranged the panels on the tables taken out of the in-built shelves. Other presentational tools were a display of selected open books on the tables of the reading room.