Panofsky, Suger and St Denis is Peter Kidson's 1987 article in the Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes, volume 50, pages 1 to 17. It examines Erwin Panofsky's influential 1946 argument that Abbot Suger's rebuilding of Saint-Denis was guided by a Neoplatonic theology of light drawn from the writings attributed to Dionysius the Areopagite, and argues that Suger's own writings support a more practical and political set of motives than that reading allows. Its strength is a close rereading of Suger's own texts against the claims made for them. Its limit is that it is a single, if widely cited, journal article revising an older consensus rather than a settled replacement for it, so this atlas holds both the original account and this qualification of it side by side rather than treating either as final. Minted 2026-08-09 as the supplementary source correcting a fact that had been resting on an invented composite popular history source with no real claim to this historiographical debate; confirmed against independent bibliographic listings agreeing on author, title, journal, volume, year and pages.
Facts
Assessment
Reliability Tier1
Tier one: Peter Kidson's 1987 peer reviewed article in the Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes, closely rereading Suger's own texts against Panofsky's theology of light claim and arguing for more practical and political motives. Its limit is that it is a single, if widely cited, journal article revising an older consensus rather than a settled replacement for it. NotesPeter Kidson, "Panofsky, Suger and St Denis," Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes, volume 50, 1987, pages 1 to 17. Argues against Erwin Panofsky's claim that Abbot Suger made systematic use of the Pseudo-Dionysian corpus in his rebuilding of Saint-Denis, holding that Suger's own writings show more practical and political motives than a consciously worked out theology of light.
Citation
AuthorPeter Kidson
PublisherJournal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes, volume 50
Publication Year1987
Source TypeJournal article
Cross-Tradition Connections
Associated With
This source names Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite directly: "drawn from the writings attributed to Dionysius the Areopagite, and argues that Suger's own writings support a more practical and political set of motives than that reading allows."
Claims Backed By This Source (9 claims)
This source backs 9 claims across the atlas. As facts: 8 well-attested. As cited relationships: 1 holds.
Disposition By Topic
- Sources, 8 claims: 7 well-attested, 1 holds.
- Articles, 1 claims: 1 well-attested.
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