Saturn and melancholy : studies in the history of natural philosophy, religion and art

Saturn and Melancholy remains an iconic text in art history, intellectual history, and the study of culture, despite being long out of print in English. Rooted in the tradition established by Aby Warburg and the Warburg Library, this book has deeply influenced understandings of the interrelations between the humanities disciplines since its first publication in English in 1964. This new edition makes the original English text available for the first time in decades. Saturn and Melancholy offers an unparalleled inquiry into the origin and development of the philosophical and medical theories on which the ancient conception of the temperaments was based and discusses their connections to astrological and religious ideas. It also traces representations of melancholy in literature and the arts up to the sixteenth century, culminating in a landmark analysis of Dürer's most famous engraving, Melencolia I. This edition features Raymond Klibansky's additional introduction and bibliographical amendments for the German edition, as well as translations of source material and 155 original illustrations. An essay on the complex publication history of this pathbreaking project - which almost did not see the light of day - covers more than eighty years, including its more recent heritage. Making new a classic book that has been out of print for over four decades, this expanded edition presents fresh insights about Saturn and Melancholy and its legacy as a precursor to modern interdisciplinary studies. Saturn and Melancholy has been out of print for a long time. Following requests from scholars in many countries the book is now made available again. Much could be added to it, especially in the light of recent studies in the history of ancient medicine. However this would hardly be possible without affecting the balance of the whole. Since neither of my co-authors is alive - Erwin Panofsky died in March 1968 - I considered it best to leave the work in the form in which it first appeared fifteen years ago. -- Preface to reprint , Raymond Klibansky, Oxford, February 1979