Iconography analyzes the origin and production of images, studying their allegorical and symbolic relationships.
Iconography encompasses everything related to the description of pictures, paintings, monuments, statues and portraits . The term is related to the set of images (especially those that are old) and the report or descriptive exhibition about them.
Iconography, therefore, can be defined as the discipline that focuses on the study of the origin and elaboration of images and their symbolic and/or allegorical relationships. It is a branch that began to be cultivated in the 19th century in London ( England ) and then spread to other European countries.
Iconography and iconology
It should be noted that the notion of iconography is associated with the concept of iconology , which is the part of semiology and symbology that is responsible for analyzing the visual denominations of art . Iconology, its experts say, studies how values and virtues are represented through figures of people.
The difference between both terms is subtle: while iconography emphasizes the description of images, iconology proposes a broader study with classifications and comparisons.
Religious representations are part of the field of study of iconography.
The Council of Trent
The main areas covered by iconography are Christian mythology , classical mythology and representations of civil inspiration . Within Christianity, the Council of Trent that took place in the 16th century promulgated the “Decree on Images” which stipulated the characteristics and functions of Catholic images.
This document distinguishes between dogmatic images (those that defend Catholic dogmas against Protestants through Christ , the Virgin Mary , the apostles, Saint Peter and Saint Paul ) and devotional images (which are intended to venerate the rest of the saints).
Usefulness of iconography
Through the research carried out in iconography, the artistic value of a work can be known taking into account its era; That is to say, it encompasses the works in a socio-cultural and historical context. This study is divided into two parts: a diachronic one (which studies the background and development process of the work) and a synchronic one (which analyzes the socio-cultural aspects that have influenced the author).
A fundamental figure of iconography was Erwin Panofsky , a renowned 19th century art historian who knew how to differentiate between the work of art and the document that allowed it to be contextualized, that is, the study of the agents that could have influenced the creation.
Christian themes are one of the most famous fields of iconography; In the year 1570 there was already a marked interest in this type of art; In fact, in that year “On Paintings and Holy Images” was published, a work in the form of an essay describing the fundamental aspects that a painting must have to belong to this genre.
Later, with the discovery of the catacombs, interest grew and 1000 years later the first hagiographies (history of saints) were published, which took up the works of a Christian nature and the context in which they had emerged.
Personifications and emblems
Personifications are another of the themes that are distinguished in iconography, through which many historical issues of characters who have somehow transformed the course of human history could be understood. Ripa's Iconology was one of the most influential publications in this field; It was a manual that analyzed the concept of the abstract and that served as a guide for artists of the time.
Finally, the emblems were other images studied. These were a type of symbolic figures in which figurative language was used. They were closer to hieroglyphs than to abstract paintings with particular attributes. These types of works gained very significant importance during the Golden Age, where artists relied on emblematic works as motifs for their paintings and other works of art.