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The Art of Law pp 43–60Cite as

The Mirror Axiom: Legal Iconology and The Lure of Reflection

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Part of the book series: Ius Gentium: Comparative Perspectives on Law and Justice ((IUSGENT,volume 66))

Abstract

The mirror metaphor bestrides and divides studies on images in law in two opposing factions, either confirming or dissenting the Law the notion of law by doubling or deferring its presence. Whereas legal history tends to read pictures and iconographies as depictions of a legal reality, art historical iconology interprets images beyond their conceptual historical evidence of the mirror surface, leaving it undecidable whether the reflection is real or present, or an event that is not assured and part of the artistic process. The paper explores the stability and abyssal structure of both formalising and revealing forces of the mirror axiom, asking how images reflect or constitute legal phenomena.

The image in a mirror is merely the shadow

arranged by the brilliance of the material receiving it.

Pliny, Natural History, IX, 97 (33–45)

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Minerva Research Group ‘The Nomos of Images: Manifestation and Iconology of Law’, Kunsthistorisches Institut in Florenz – Max-Planck-Institut, Florence, Italy

    Carolin Behrmann

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  1. Carolin Behrmann
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Correspondence to Carolin Behrmann .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Art, Ghent Legal History Institute, FWO (Research Foundation Flanders), Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium

    Stefan Huygebaert

  2. Ghent Legal History Institute, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium

    Georges Martyn

  3. Flemish research centre for the arts of the Burgundian Netherlands, Musea Brugge, Bruges, Belgium

    Vanessa Paumen

  4. Centre de recherches en histoire du droit et des institutions, Université Saint-Louis, Brussels, Belgium

    Eric Bousmar

  5. Centre d’histoire du droit et de la justice, Université catholique de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium

    Xavier Rousseaux

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Behrmann, C. (2018). The Mirror Axiom: Legal Iconology and The Lure of Reflection. In: Huygebaert, S., Martyn, G., Paumen, V., Bousmar, E., Rousseaux, X. (eds) The Art of Law. Ius Gentium: Comparative Perspectives on Law and Justice, vol 66. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-90787-1_3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-90787-1_3

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