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

Strunk, who gained control of the Titans in 2015 after Adams died in 2013, has defended the legacy and iconography of her father’s team. —Brooks Kubena, New York Times, 28 Mar. 2025

But to a curious student of design and iconography, Ashley Olsen’s fit is always a marvel. —Aamina Inayat Khan, StyleCaster, 20 Mar. 2025

Each group of guests passing through the John Wick Experience are tasked with completing a mission that plays out in unique ways with characters, mythology, and iconography inspired by the feature film universe. —Anthony D'alessandro, Deadline, 12 Mar. 2025

Highlights of the Albuquerque Collection include Ming and Qing Export and Imperial Taste porcelain include rare examples of ‘First Orders, the earliest commissions of Chinese porcelain by the Portuguese, featuring striking European iconography. —Lee Sharrock, Forbes, 24 Feb. 2025

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

Rhymes for iconography

• bibliography
• choreography
• chromatography
• crystallography
• hagiography
• lexicography
• metallography
• myelography
• oceanography
• physiography
• plethysmography
• polarography