iconography
(aɪkəˈnɒgrəfɪ)
[ad. med.L. īconographia, ad. Gr. εἰκονογραϕία sketch, description (Strabo), f. εἰκών icon + -γραϕία writing, -graphy. Cf. F. iconographie (1701 in Furetière).]
† 1. concr. A pictorial representation, delineation; a drawing or plan. Obs.
| 1628 Burton Anat. Mel. ii. ii. iv. (ed. 3) 269 Those curious Iconographies of Temples and pallaces. 1678 Phillips (ed. 4), Iconography..is the platform or model of a House. |
2. The description or illustration of any subject by means of drawings or figures; any book or work in which this is done; also, the branch of knowledge which deals with the representation of persons or objects by any application of the arts of design. Also transf.
| 1678 Phillips (ed. 4), Iconography, a Description by Cuts, etc. 1809 Kendall Trav. III. lxxviii. 213 An elaborate monument of some transaction of which no other trace remains to elucidate this imperfect iconography. 1851 E. J. Millington tr. Didron (title) Christian Iconography; or, the History of Christian Art in the Middle Ages. 1874 J. T. Micklethwaite Mod. Par. Churches 131 The iconography of the altar-canopy. 1883 Pall Mall G. 20 Sept. 4/2 Expensive large iconographies like Couch's, Yarrell's or Day's. 1939 E. Panofsky Stud. Iconology i. 3 Iconography is that branch of the history of art which concerns itself with the subject matter or meaning of works of art, as opposed to their form. 1957 Times Lit. Suppl. 8 Nov. 680/1 The iconography of the watermark is a new aspect of the study of the migration of symbols at present so popular among art historians. 1960 Listener 8 Dec. 1041/2 The fashion of so-called ‘iconography’ at this moment has produced many cumbersome interpretations. 1962 Ibid. 27 Sept. 473/2 The iconography of a work of art is its dramatic structure seen in terms of characters, situations, and images that are related to a specific religious, social, or historical context. 1969 Ibid. 17 Apr. 533/2 Now people are interested in iconography, in saying what the subject represents, and offering infinitely ingenious interpretations of every picture. 1970 Oxf. Compan. Art 555/1 Iconography, a term in art history..extended in the 20th c. to cover the whole descriptive investigation of the subject matter of the figurative arts... Iconography..studies the development of the themes which artists use, for instance the transformation of the images of planets in astrological manuscripts, the rise of genre painting, the origins of still life, and the use of political satire. |