The study and interpretation of visual images, symbols, and their meanings in art. It examines how artists use specific motifs, attributes, and symbolic elements to convey religious, mythological, or cultural messages.
From Greek 'eikon' (image) and 'graphia' (writing/description), originally meaning the description of images. The term was adopted into art historical vocabulary in the 19th century as scholars developed systematic approaches to interpreting artistic symbolism.
Renaissance painters created an elaborate visual language where every detail mattered – a dog symbolized fidelity, lilies meant purity, and even the number of folds in drapery could have meaning! Iconographic analysis can reveal that what looks like a simple portrait might actually be packed with hidden messages about the subject's virtues, beliefs, or social status.
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