The Fortune of Gertrud Bing (1892-1964): A Fragmented Memoir of a Phantomlike Muse

Sie stand anderen zur Seite und wusste sie zu inspirieren. It is

clear that Ernst H. Gombrich saw Gertrud Bing (1892-1964) as the muse in

the circle of scholars around Aby M. Warburg (1866-1929). Others have

compared her to the figure of the nymph, which was essential to

Warburg’s thought. Indeed, with Warburg’s fascination for the ninfa

fiorentina, a picturing of ‘the feminine’ enters into the centre of

his thinking. However, Warburg almost never voiced opinions about the

role of gender in the structure of society. Nor does it seem that he

actually admitted women to his intellectual universe. Gertrud Bing, it

turns out, was the rare exception.

Who was Gertrud Bing and what was her personal contribution to Warburg’s

scientific project? This essay intends to map the agency of Gertrud

Bing, in a way that she herself would have probably preferred. According

to her, the ideal biography ought to merge the personal with the

intellectual, since, what one experiences as a human being will also

find its way into the academic oeuvre one leaves behind.