Abstract

The linguistic and discursive dimensions of art theory and art writing are currently attracting renewed critical attention. This article analyses some of the constructive strategies employed by Erwin Panofsky in shaping his own language, challenging a reductionist understanding of his alleged ‘logocentrism’ and of the verbal and visual as categorically distinct media. I focus mainly on Panofsky’s early writings on medieval art as a case in point to characterize his conception of the writing of images as an act of interpreting. Drawing on the distinction between the language of the art historian and the role of language in the history of art, I will emphasize the pivotal role of Panofsky’s ‘Reflections on Historical Time’ as a logical premise for his definition of iconological analysis. As part of a ‘unity of meaning’, the written word related to artworks is to be regarded—Panofsky seems to suggest—as inseparable from the visual evidence.

摘要

艺术理论和艺术写作的语言和话语维度目前正在引起新的批判性关注。本文分析了欧文·潘诺夫斯基在塑造他自己的语言时所采用的一些建设性策略，挑战了对他所谓的“逻各斯中心主义”以及将语言和视觉视为截然不同的媒体的还原论理解。我主要关注潘诺夫斯基关于中世纪艺术的早期著作，以此作为一个例子来描述他将图像写作的概念描述为一种解释行为。借鉴艺术史学家的语言与语言在艺术史中的作用之间的区别在艺术史方面，我将强调潘诺夫斯基的“对历史时间的反思”的关键作用，作为他定义图像学分析的逻辑前提。作为“意义统一”的一部分，与艺术作品相关的文字应被视为——帕诺夫斯基似乎暗示——与视觉证据密不可分。