This article addresses the issue of the relevance of representations, in particular images, for
historiographic research. It additionally studies the sources of the power of representations,
their multiple meanings, and the foundations of their emotional charge. Based on a case
study, the article further examines the possible relationships between the characteristics of
representations—which from their inception are transformed into important expressions
of social relations of power—and their possible utility for historians in studying societies
of the past.
