ABSTRACT
Artistic sources are the second formal category included in this book apart from written sources. They differ from written sources in that they are not texts, but objects such as paintings, frescoes, statues or even entire buildings. Since propaganda art and historical paintings present a distinct outlook on a historical event or persona, they come with an intentional message that may go as far as reinterpreting historical facts. To this day, there is no methodological uniformity within the historical sciences regarding image analysis, or the analysis of propaganda imagery—even Erwin Panofsky's widely recognized method still leaves important questions unanswered. Originally a sociological and anthropological concept, network theory was introduced to historical research by German Historian Wolfgang Reinhard in 1979 focusing on the behavior of oligarchical elites. Hermeneutics adds to Panofsky's theory by outlining the importance of spectator-image interaction and the relevance of the spectator's pre-existing knowledge to construct meaning and interpret the painting in question.
