Die Bilder der Aufklärung

Enlightenment is more than the use of reason and written culture. This is the initial thesis of this volume, which examines the articles of visual media in the programmatic formation and popular dissemination of the Enlightenment. For how the ideas and practices of the Enlightenment were able to prevail in 18th century society, which was largely characterised by image-based communication, can only be understood if the use of visual media is taken into account. These could be book illustrations or pamphlets, panel paintings and sculptures, diagrams, maps or caricatures, with formats ranging from miniatures to entire room decorations. This opens up new perspectives in Enlightenment research, which has long been fixated on texts: How does our image of the Enlightenment change when we increasingly analyse its images?