Pathos e stile in Erwin Panofsky

Abstract

In some of Panofsky’s studies, pathos is a basic energy in forming and understanding of the style, that marks art of an epoch, and the succession of different styles, together with the influence of shifts in philosophical thought. Warburg’s Pathosformel and Cassirer’s symbolic form have shaped his art-historical research. Some examples from the history of Aesthetics, known from Panofsky, attempt to demonstrate the role of pathos in cognitive processes.