Wikipedia's first sentence called it “german-jewish art historian”. Today it says “german art historian whose work represents a high point in the modern academic study of iconography”.
Measured, not asserted. Every count, date and revision on this page was taken from Wikipedia's own history and checked against the live article. The words quoted are theirs.
Machine-checked against the full current article on 2026-08-03.
We saved snapshots of this article over twenty years; you are reading the 2020 one. Red dashes: removed from Wikipedia since.Pale dots: rewritten; the numbered note shows what it says now.Red text: written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot.1 tap a number or a side note to jump between them
The opening as it read in 2020
Erwin Panofsky (March 30, 1892 in Hannover – March 14, 1968 in Princeton, New Jersey ) was a German-Jewish art historian , whose academic career was pursued mostly in the U.S. after the rise of the Nazi regime . Panofsky's work represents a high point in the modern academic study of iconography , which he used in hugely influential works like his "little book" Renaissance and Renascences in Western Art and his masterpiece, Early Netherlandish Painting .1 Many of his works are still in print, including Studies in Iconology: Humanist Themes in the Art of the Renaissance (1939), Meaning in the Visual Arts (1955), and his 1943 study The Life and Art of Albrecht Dürer . Panofsky's ideas were also highly influential in intellectual history in general, particularly in his use of historical ideas to interpret artworks and vice versa. "Erwin Panofsky – Dictionary of Art Historians" . arthistorians.info . Shone, Richard and Stonard, John-Paul, eds. The Books that Shaped Art History , chapter 7.
This is Wikipedia's own text, saved in our repository. Their copy of it is revision 965317640.
The opening as it stood in 2005
Erwin Panofsky ( 1892 - 1968 ) was a German art historian and essayist often credited with the founding of the academic iconography .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 16244141.
The opening as it stood in 2010 1 passage from the previous snapshot no longer appear
Erwin Panofsky (30 March 1892 - 14 March 1968) was a German art historian who emigrated to America and remains highly influential in the modern academic study of iconography .Many of his works remain in print, including Studies in Iconology : Humanist Themes in the Art of the Renaissance (1939, reissued 1972), and his study of Albrecht Dürer .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 366369744.
The opening as it stood on October 6, 2023
Erwin Panofsky (March 30, 1892, in Hannover – March 14, 1968, in Princeton, New Jersey ) was a German-Jewish art historian , whose academic career was pursued mostly in the U.S. after the rise of the Nazi regime . Panofsky's work represents a high point in the modern academic study of iconography , which he used in hugely influential works like his "little book" Renaissance and Renascences in Western Art and his masterpiece, Early Netherlandish Painting . Many of his works are still in print, including Studies in Iconology: Humanist Themes in the Art of the Renaissance (1939), Meaning in the Visual Arts (1955), and his 1943 study The Life and Art of Albrecht Dürer . Panofsky's ideas were also highly influential in intellectual history in general, particularly in his use of historical ideas to interpret artworks and vice versa. "Erwin Panofsky – Dictionary of Art Historians" . arthistorians.info . Shone, Richard and Stonard, John-Paul, eds. The Books that Shaped Art History , chapter 7.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1178329948.
The opening as it stood in 2025
Erwin Panofsky (March 30, 1892 – March 14, 1968) was a German-Jewish art historian whose work represents a high point in the modern academic study of iconography , including his hugely influential Renaissance and Renascences in Western Art and his seminal Early Netherlandish Painting . Panofsky's ideas were highly influential in intellectual history in general, particularly in his use of historical ideas to interpret artworks and vice versa. Many of his books are still in print, including Studies in Iconology: Humanist Themes in the Art of the Renaissance (1939), Meaning in the Visual Arts (1955), and his 1943 study The Life and Art of Albrecht Dürer . His academic career was pursued mostly in the U.S. after the rise of the Nazi regime . "Erwin Panofsky – Dictionary of Art Historians" . arthistorians.info . Shone, Richard and Stonard, John-Paul, eds. The Books that Shaped Art History , chapter 7.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1296891259. This is our newest snapshot; the live article may have moved again since.
Today
Wikipedia's first sentence called it “german-jewish art historian”. Today it says “german art historian whose work represents a high point in the modern academic study of iconography”. Read the current article and compare.
2005
2010
2015
2020
Oct '23
2025
Counts in the opening at each snapshot. Green: the word gained ground. Red: it was cut. Grey: no change.
What Wikipedia says this is
Every article opens by defining its subject. This one was redefined since October 7, and today's defining sentence is their current revision.
Then
german-jewish art historian
Now
german art historian whose work represents a high point in the modern academic study of iconography
Struck red text is no longer in the article; dotted amber text was rewritten. Every revision id links to Wikipedia's copy; the text shown is our own saved copy. Data: /data. Wikipedia text is CC BY-SA; quoted for the record; not affiliated with Wikipedia.
