Between a first photo session in May 1928 and the establishing of a new series, the so-called penultimate series, in August and September 1928, Warburg reorganized his materials. The new order followed subject categories and topological aspects; in a major shift he moved the theme of cosmology from the second half of the series to the beginning. Warburg believed that illustrating both the practice and the history of converting constellations in the heavens from powerful demons into abstract symbols was a significant new way of demonstrating the so-called self-awareness of thinking men. On 28 August 1928 the second series, comprising 77 panels with 1292 reproductions, was ready and photographed, but soon Warburg made changes to yield a visually clearer argument. Over the next three weeks he established a new order. Some panels had to be re-photographed, some were added, others omitted; all in all, concerning 11 panels that differed from the 28 August series. This was finalized on 13 September, two weeks before he left Hamburg for Italy. The photographs, later glued on white sheets of paper, record the work done between late August and mid-September 1928, in particular the move of panels within the sequence, and the renumbering. The series on display here does not contain the panels Warburg eliminated in this process of reorganization of the series. [C.W.]
Panel 1
Panel 2
Panel 3
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Panel 11
Panel 13
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Panel 18
Panel 20
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Panel 28
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Panel 42
Panel 42a
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Panel 44
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Panel 46
Panel 47
Panel 48
Panel 49
Panel 50
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Panel 54
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Panel 58
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Panel 60
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Panel 62
Panel 63
Panel 65
Panel 65 alt