iconography

noun

ico·​nog·​ra·​phy ˌī-kə-ˈnä-grə-fē 

plural iconographies

1

: the traditional or conventional images or symbols associated with a subject and especially a religious or legendary subject

2

: pictorial material relating to or illustrating a subject

3

: the imagery or symbolism of a work of art, an artist, or a body of art

4

: iconology

Did you know?

If you saw a 17th-century painting of a man writing at a desk with a lion at his feet, would you know you were looking at St. Jerome, translator of the Bible, who, according to legend, once pulled a thorn from the paw of a lion, which thereafter became his devoted friend? And if a painting showed a young woman reclining on a bed with a shower of gold descending on her, would you recognize her as Danaë, locked up in a tower to keep her away from the lustful Zeus, who then managed to gain access to her by transforming himself into golden light (or golden coins)? An iconographic approach to art can make museum-going a lot of fun—and amateur iconographers know there are also plenty of symbols lurking in the images that advertisers bombard us with daily.

Examples of iconography in a Sentence

the iconography of the 1960s

Recent Examples on the Web

Baseball is also highly invested in its own iconography; in cities such as Boston and Chicago, places with famous, century-old, open parks, domes will be a tough sell. —Ellen Cushing, The Atlantic, 2 Nov. 2024

How can a leading man so steeped in American iconography have taken so long to make a Western? —Tim Grierson, Vulture, 2 Nov. 2024

The iconography alongside each area of the checkup display indicates the urgency of the user’s consideration of the recommendations. —Davey Winder, Forbes, 26 Oct. 2024

The cosmetic spoons in the Met’s collection are often high-end, and their iconography indicates they were used for ritual purposes. —Brennan Kilbane, Robb Report, 15 Oct. 2024

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Late Latin īconographia "making of images," borrowed from Greek eikonographía "sketch, description" (Late Greek, "making of images"), from eikono- icono- + -graphia -graphy

First Known Use

1678, in the meaning defined at sense 2