Chapter 1 : iconology
Images & subject matter
Cues inside visual texts
Primitive but useful method
Giving structure to primary interpretation of images
Disciplined ‘dissection’ of unfamiliar images
7 ‘stops’ to make an informed conclusion (=WYSIWYG) why
you so interesting, why you so good = allows us of the kind of
images we are dealing with and the meanings they express =
7 stops to categorize the image
1. Genre = type = kind
portrait, still life (skull), landscape, nude, genre pierce
meaning is always external to images
2. Subject matter = content = theme
politics (1), skull / culp / stationary (2), woman, umbrella, seaside
(3), nude woman (4), trees/water/house (5)
what do you see in the picture ?
3. Setting = location = environment
wherever, writing table, Belgian coast, seaside, mediterranean
very vague where the image is situated
4. Era = timeframe = period
today, 16th / 17th, belle epoque, early 20th, late medieval
time in the history, helps us to put a period so it shapes our
interpretation
5. Season = time of year = occasion
whenever, winter, fall, summer, spring
6. Time = moment in the day = hour
whenever, evening / night, noon, afternoon, morning
7. Moment = instance = event
reflection, fallen asleep, boredom, sunbathing, snowing
thinking what’s going on
Easy to apply, but many problems arise
Common sense (e.g. agricultural; religious) to lable surten things,
interpretation and meaning always takes place outside the image =
we can never trust images to do their own telling (because
everyone has their own interpretation)
, Codes, conventions & canon = 7 stops rely on our own
‘Meaning’ of image conjures something external to it = images /
paintings mean nothing if we don’t give it to them
Erwin Panofsky & iconoloy (godfather of iconology)
- Single lit candle during day light
= why would you have a candle
burning during the day
remembers us we are only on
earth for a short period of time
- Crystal beads & a mirror
- Shoes removed but present in
portrait
these people are standing on
holy ground, this holy ground
represents their marriage and
that they take their marriage very serious
- Dog included in painting
long trope of loyaly
- Apple on windowsill
Joy in paradise but then eve ate the apple = the constant trait of
temptation in their marriage = they are aware of these dangers and
want to avoid it
- Fruit on a cupboard
- Curtains drawn & wood craving of St. Margaret
these are images to the whole babymaking process, it suggests that
these two people can jump in bed after their marriage to make children
- Well-rounded stomach & deliberate gesture
it was a fashion style to dress yourself pregnant, but this is irrelevant
Reproduction is a very central theme to this picture !!!!!
We can use the content to make an interpretation / analyses of the
historical moment the image / painting was made
Using the painting / image to say something about the broader
social context / meaning / history
Late middle-ages 15th century
Disguised symbolism
,Arnolfini Wedding Portrait (Van Eyck, 1434) = every object in the content
of the painting (that is in the painting) has 2 kinds of existence :
Depicted objects have deeper meaning
‘Realistic existence’ = factual level = mirror, bed, beads, =
they are not out of place but have a common place. But they
also have a :
‘Symbolic existence’ = every object says also something
beyond just their existence
‘Full’ meaning of an image transcends the factuality of the ‘7 stops’
Conventional meaning of signs (e.g. dogs & loyalty) = very old
relationships, something we have collectively decided. So the
meaning doesn’t come from the painting itself, it just comes
from our history.
Cultural significance of objects (e.g. colors & status)
Iconology
Fully understanding Van Eyck’s Arnolfini Wedding Portrait requires
Basic knowledge of Medieval painting = we need to know that
100 years before this image was made, people didn’t even
know what perspective was.
Basic knowledge of Christian theology = carving of sint
margheret has a meaning
Basic knowlegde of Medieval social conventions
‘7 stops’ (WYSIWYG) fails to fully account for the meaning of images
because
They are produced with a (knowledgeable) audience in mind
They un/consciously reflect social and cultural logics of the
context they emerge from
Erwin Panofsky
Hamburg & Princeton University
Specialist in late-Medieval & Renaissance painting
, Seminal work: Studies in Iconology: Humanistic Themes in the Art of
the Renaissance (1939)
Seminal work: Studies in Iconology: Humanistic Themes in the Art of
the Renaissance (1939)
Key arguments:
Renaissance art is marked by a belief in human potential and
dignity
Naturalism & perspective emulate individuality
Hybridization between Christian and mythological themes to
reconcile classical wisdom and Catholicism
Three-tiered method to examine meaning in images (levels of
meaning)
Primary level: factual, expressional… (what do I
literally see)
describe what’s in the image, listing objects /
expressions
Secondary level: conventional, social… (what does it
mean in its own time)
symbols, conventions, social meanings
what does it symbolize in this society?
you use cultural cues to interpret the scene
Tertiary level: cultural, historical…(what does it say
about culture and history)
connect the image to bigger ideas, history, culture
what deeper cultural / historical story is behind it?
what thells us about history and culture
St. Peter Healing a Cripple and the Raising of Tabitha (Masolino da
Panicale, ca 1423)
Primary level: factual,
expressional…
e.g. use of graphical perspective in
painting
Secondary level: conventional,
social…
e.g. visual art perceived as a domain
of scientific experiment
Images & subject matter
Cues inside visual texts
Primitive but useful method
Giving structure to primary interpretation of images
Disciplined ‘dissection’ of unfamiliar images
7 ‘stops’ to make an informed conclusion (=WYSIWYG) why
you so interesting, why you so good = allows us of the kind of
images we are dealing with and the meanings they express =
7 stops to categorize the image
1. Genre = type = kind
portrait, still life (skull), landscape, nude, genre pierce
meaning is always external to images
2. Subject matter = content = theme
politics (1), skull / culp / stationary (2), woman, umbrella, seaside
(3), nude woman (4), trees/water/house (5)
what do you see in the picture ?
3. Setting = location = environment
wherever, writing table, Belgian coast, seaside, mediterranean
very vague where the image is situated
4. Era = timeframe = period
today, 16th / 17th, belle epoque, early 20th, late medieval
time in the history, helps us to put a period so it shapes our
interpretation
5. Season = time of year = occasion
whenever, winter, fall, summer, spring
6. Time = moment in the day = hour
whenever, evening / night, noon, afternoon, morning
7. Moment = instance = event
reflection, fallen asleep, boredom, sunbathing, snowing
thinking what’s going on
Easy to apply, but many problems arise
Common sense (e.g. agricultural; religious) to lable surten things,
interpretation and meaning always takes place outside the image =
we can never trust images to do their own telling (because
everyone has their own interpretation)
, Codes, conventions & canon = 7 stops rely on our own
‘Meaning’ of image conjures something external to it = images /
paintings mean nothing if we don’t give it to them
Erwin Panofsky & iconoloy (godfather of iconology)
- Single lit candle during day light
= why would you have a candle
burning during the day
remembers us we are only on
earth for a short period of time
- Crystal beads & a mirror
- Shoes removed but present in
portrait
these people are standing on
holy ground, this holy ground
represents their marriage and
that they take their marriage very serious
- Dog included in painting
long trope of loyaly
- Apple on windowsill
Joy in paradise but then eve ate the apple = the constant trait of
temptation in their marriage = they are aware of these dangers and
want to avoid it
- Fruit on a cupboard
- Curtains drawn & wood craving of St. Margaret
these are images to the whole babymaking process, it suggests that
these two people can jump in bed after their marriage to make children
- Well-rounded stomach & deliberate gesture
it was a fashion style to dress yourself pregnant, but this is irrelevant
Reproduction is a very central theme to this picture !!!!!
We can use the content to make an interpretation / analyses of the
historical moment the image / painting was made
Using the painting / image to say something about the broader
social context / meaning / history
Late middle-ages 15th century
Disguised symbolism
,Arnolfini Wedding Portrait (Van Eyck, 1434) = every object in the content
of the painting (that is in the painting) has 2 kinds of existence :
Depicted objects have deeper meaning
‘Realistic existence’ = factual level = mirror, bed, beads, =
they are not out of place but have a common place. But they
also have a :
‘Symbolic existence’ = every object says also something
beyond just their existence
‘Full’ meaning of an image transcends the factuality of the ‘7 stops’
Conventional meaning of signs (e.g. dogs & loyalty) = very old
relationships, something we have collectively decided. So the
meaning doesn’t come from the painting itself, it just comes
from our history.
Cultural significance of objects (e.g. colors & status)
Iconology
Fully understanding Van Eyck’s Arnolfini Wedding Portrait requires
Basic knowledge of Medieval painting = we need to know that
100 years before this image was made, people didn’t even
know what perspective was.
Basic knowledge of Christian theology = carving of sint
margheret has a meaning
Basic knowlegde of Medieval social conventions
‘7 stops’ (WYSIWYG) fails to fully account for the meaning of images
because
They are produced with a (knowledgeable) audience in mind
They un/consciously reflect social and cultural logics of the
context they emerge from
Erwin Panofsky
Hamburg & Princeton University
Specialist in late-Medieval & Renaissance painting
, Seminal work: Studies in Iconology: Humanistic Themes in the Art of
the Renaissance (1939)
Seminal work: Studies in Iconology: Humanistic Themes in the Art of
the Renaissance (1939)
Key arguments:
Renaissance art is marked by a belief in human potential and
dignity
Naturalism & perspective emulate individuality
Hybridization between Christian and mythological themes to
reconcile classical wisdom and Catholicism
Three-tiered method to examine meaning in images (levels of
meaning)
Primary level: factual, expressional… (what do I
literally see)
describe what’s in the image, listing objects /
expressions
Secondary level: conventional, social… (what does it
mean in its own time)
symbols, conventions, social meanings
what does it symbolize in this society?
you use cultural cues to interpret the scene
Tertiary level: cultural, historical…(what does it say
about culture and history)
connect the image to bigger ideas, history, culture
what deeper cultural / historical story is behind it?
what thells us about history and culture
St. Peter Healing a Cripple and the Raising of Tabitha (Masolino da
Panicale, ca 1423)
Primary level: factual,
expressional…
e.g. use of graphical perspective in
painting
Secondary level: conventional,
social…
e.g. visual art perceived as a domain
of scientific experiment
