Panofsky, Erwin (1892–1968)

German art historian who lived and worked in the USA from the early 1930s. His work deals mainly with medieval and Renaissance art, being especially concerned with the iconology or symbolism employed in these periods. His major works, which have had a profound effect on the development of art history as a discipline, are Studies in Iconology 1939, and Meaning in the Visual Arts 1955.

Born in Hannover, and was professor of art at Hamburg from 1926 until he was forced to resign by the Nazis in 1933. He moved to the USA, teaching at the Institute for Advanced Studies, Princetown, and at the Institue of Fine Art, New York University. His other works include Early Netherlandish Painting 1953, Albrecht Dürer 1955, and Renaissance and Renascences in Western Art 1960.

He wrote frequently for Art Bulletin and the Warburg Journal.