On Hans Belting’s An Anthropology Of Images Thought And Its Aesthetic Significance

The main object of this research is Hans Belting’s an anthropology of images,which mainly studies from three aspects: theoretical connotation,methodology,and core issues,and identifies its inspiration for aesthetic research.The occurrence of iconology research is related to the formalism research in art history.Hans Belting inherited the tradition of iconology research founded by Warburg and opposed the formalism research from the non-formalism standpoint.The deviation between the existing research tradition of art history and art reality leads to the “end of art history”.Belting constructed a unique theory of an anthropology of images,which promotes the research object of art history from art to image,and provides a new approach for the study of art history.The connotation of iconology in an anthropology of images is developed from four dimensions: image,media,body and memory.The introduction of “medium” expands the scope of iconology.The body,which can be used as an image or as an image medium,is related to the perception and production of images.The exchange of “memory” and real experience realizes the exchange of world and image.The technology image in the virtual world transcends the limitation of time and space and transforms the body into the place of image more thoroughly.Hans Belting constructed image anthropology by drawing on Anthropology and phenomenology.He accepted the core concept of image in historical anthropology and established the research paradigm of “picture-medium-body”.He reflected on the logic of historical anthropology to define images by similarity,highlighting the non-reappearance and invisibility of images.With the advent of technology era,image has changed from memory medium of place to the main way of perceiving place.An anthropology of images goes beyond the binary cognitive way of taking images as objects.It understands images in the sense of existence and emphasizes that real images are invisible spiritual images.Belting put the image into the theoretical framework of social drama.He revealed the contradiction between the absence of death and the absence of presence in the image,and pointed out that the photographic media triggered a new death experience.The concept of “body” in phenomenology inspired Belting to go beyond the study of semiotics’ non-embodiment and bridge the binary opposition between physical and mental images.Influenced by the paradigm of anthropology from experience to universality,an anthropology of images highlights three core issues in the analysis of empirical facts.The two opposing and competing media of the coat of arms and portrait correspond to different body concepts.Belting presents the process of independent portrait as the painting theme in the struggle and dependence between them.The relationship between image and shadow involves the relationship between image,body and death.It also reveals the contradiction between absence and presence.Belting examines photographic images from the perspective of anthropology,emphasizing the importance of medium transparency and gaze.An anthropology of images reexamines art and changes the research object of art.It breaks the tendency of formalism and goes beyond the tradition of defining art with beauty established by Hegel.In the sense of discipline,an anthropology of images further loosens the aesthetic tradition as art philosophy by renewing art discourse,which promotes the new development of contemporary aesthetics.Under the influence of phenomenological research,Belting constructs a unique perceptual model of an anthropology of images,which emphasizes that the process of image perception is from external material to spirit.This promotes the research object of aesthetics from finished product to perceptual experience.On the issue of the relationship between technology and beauty,Belting provides a different view from technology criticism and technology alienation.He believes that technology serving human beings is a part of human beings.