Animation between Magic, Miracles and Mechanics: Principles of Life in Medieval Imagery

When it comes to images, we are all animists. Deep down, we all know that images can - at least potentially - be alive or come to life. Nowadays, we may tend to rationalize our ingrained animism and explain it away as a mere projection only happening in the space between image and viewer. In the Middle Ages, however, imagery made enthusiastic use of magical, miraculous and mechanical means of animation, empowered and ensouled by both natural and supernatural principles of life. This animist...