Art historian and philosopher Horst Bredekamp reveals the importance of visual analysis and the central role of images in the development of the philosophical thought of Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (1646-1716). Relying mainly on the Leibnizian concept of the monad and on the Theater of Nature and Art, elaborated by the German philosopher and scientist from 1671 until his death, Bredekamp places Leibniz as a precursor of the theory of the image.
An art historian and philosopher, Horst Bredekamp is professor at the Institute for the History of Art and Image at Berlin's Humboldt University and, since 2019, senior co-director of the Matters of Activity cluster of excellence. Author of numerous books and articles, he has won several awards in Germany, including the Sigmund-Freud Prize (2001).
Foreword by Louis Ucciani.
Translated from the German by Richard Parisot (original title: Die Fenster Der Monade: Gottfried Wilhem Leibniz' Theater Der Natur Und Kunst, Walter de Gruyter, 2008).
Revised by Emmanuel Faure.
