iconology
Art symbol study
Iconology is the study of visual images and symbols in art, examining their deeper cultural, philosophical, or historical meanings.
While iconography identifies and catalogs images—the lamb represents Christ—iconology interprets what those symbols reveal about the beliefs and values of the culture that produced them.
The term is most associated with art historian Erwin Panofsky, who distinguished the two approaches.
Study of interpretation methods
- exegesisCritical textual interpretation
- meaningWhat something signifies
- analysisMethodical study of parts
- contextualizationPlacing something within circumstances
decoding · reading · significance · connotation · critique · elucidation · commentary · symbolism
European cultural reawakening
- BaroqueOrnate artistic period
- patronageSupporter's financial backing
- altarpieceReligious art behind altar
- frescoesPaintings on fresh plaster
allegory · emblem · vanitas · memento mori · attribute · personification · typology · program
Mark conveying information
- signifierMeaning-bearing form
- signifiedExpressed meaning symbolically
- denotationWord's explicit dictionary meaning
- connotationImplied sense, not dictionary
code · symbol · index · structuralism · encoding · meaning-making · representation · convention
All gods of a religion
- deitiesWorshipped supernatural beings
- OlympiansGreek gods or top athletes
- TitansElder Greek deities
- attributesInherent characteristics or properties
personification · allegory · metamorphosis · apotheosis · classical · Hercules · Venus · Mars
Canonized religious figures
- haloLuminous ring overhead
- MadonnaChrist's mother, or pop icon
- crucifixCross with Christ figure
- apostlesZealous promoters of causes
martyrs · attributes · hagiography · typology · Marian · Byzantine · veneration · devotional
hermeneutics
Study of interpretation methods
- exegesisCritical textual interpretation
- meaningWhat something signifies
- analysisMethodical study of parts
contextualization · decoding · reading · significance · connotation · critique · elucidation · commentary · symbolism · cultural context
Renaissance
European cultural reawakening
- BaroqueOrnate artistic period
- patronageSupporter's financial backing
- altarpieceReligious art behind altar
frescoes · allegory · emblem · vanitas · memento mori · attribute · personification · typology · program · cycle
sign
Mark conveying information
- signifierMeaning-bearing form
- signifiedExpressed meaning symbolically
- denotationWord's explicit dictionary meaning
connotation · code · symbol · index · structuralism · encoding · meaning-making · representation · convention · arbitrary
pantheon
All gods of a religion
attributes · personification · allegory · metamorphosis · apotheosis · classical · Hercules · Venus · Mars · Mercury
saints
Canonized religious figures
apostles · martyrs · attributes · hagiography · typology · Marian · Byzantine · veneration · devotional · liturgical
iconologyformalism
Privileging structure over substance
cataloguing · literal reading · technical analysis · iconography · connoisseurship