Origin vs Genesis. Warburg and Benjamin in the Footsteps of Goethe’s Morphology

14-06-12 The Warburg Institute Andrea Pinotti Warburg, Benjamin and Kulturwissenschaft Conference: “Origin vs Genesis. Warburg and Benjamin in the Footsteps of Goethe’s Morphology“ In continental Europe the intellectual legacy of Aby Warburg is currently a major topic of debate. Several eminent German art historians have announced that the completion of the edition of Warburg’s writings is now a national priority. As the holder of Warburg’s papers the Warburg Institute is actively involved in editing Warburg’s writings. Walter Benjamin was almost a generation younger, but his legacy, in contrast, has been much more widely discussed. The comparative cultural historical method Warburg and Benjamin introduced independently offers ample ground for comparison, as scholars have shown in recent years. By looking at historical periods with a similar transitional character, Warburg and Benjamin develope