Images, Representation, and Pathways of Access to the Past

This article addresses the issue of the relevance of representations, in particular images, for historiographic research. It additionally studies the sources of the power of representations, their multiple meanings, and the foundations of their emotional charge. Based on a case study, the article further examines the possible relationships between the characteristics of representations-which from their inception are transformed into important expressions of social relations of power-and their possible utility for historians in studying societies of the past.