Mechanism of Forgetfulness and Its Modification in the Context of Image Viewing: A Study of the “Signorelli” Case*

This research builds upon Meyer Schapiro's and Hubert Damisch's scrutiny of Freud's renowned case of forgetting. In The Psychopathology of Everyday Life (1901b), Freud explored the repression mechanism implicated in his forgetfulness of the name of Renaissance artist Luca Signorelli1. Citing concerns about Freud's psychoanalytic rationale, Schapiro and Damisch independently presented their conjectures. Expanding on this topic, Damisch conjectured on the mode of visual image perception within distinct cultural contexts. Damisch, a French philosopher with expertise in aesthetics and art history, had an academic standing parallel to Schapiro's. Schapiro held Damisch in high regard, equating him with Panofsky2. Their acquaintance started in the 1960s and grew into a friendship that lasted nearly three decades, including persistent correspondence. The letters exchanged between them from 1972 to 1973 ranged over discussions concerning Freud (Damisch & Schapiro, 2019), during a time when Damisch visited Cornell University at Schapiro's request.