ARTFEED — Contemporary Art Intelligence

Carlo Ginzburg's Anomalous Historiography

opinion-review · 2026-06-18

Alessandro Vanoli reflects on Carlo Ginzburg's approach to history, recalling a conference in Bologna years ago where Ginzburg discussed the image of the enemy. Vanoli was struck by Ginzburg's serious analysis of Carl Barks, the Disney cartoonist known for Donald Duck comics, seeing it as a lesson in finding historical questions in unexpected places.

Key facts

  • Carlo Ginzburg discussed Carl Barks at a conference in Bologna
  • The conference focused on the image of the enemy
  • Alessandro Vanoli wrote the reflection
  • Ginzburg treated Barks' work with scholarly seriousness
  • Vanoli saw this as a model for historical inquiry

Entities

Artists

Locations

  • Bologna
  • Italy

Sources