One of the most interesting and non-conventional departments of science in today’s day and age is iconography. It is the science of identification, description, classification and interpretation of symbols.
To define it simply, let us consider you are looking at “The Starry Night”, a famous painting by Van Gogh or perhaps at the Mona Lisa. Now, what do you make of it? Is the subject’s smile expressing joy or melancholy? Are the stars really stars or signifying the arrival of angels on Earth? This science of understanding visual art is termed as iconography.
The term comes from the Greek word ikon meaning image. An icon was originally a picture of Christ on a panel used as an object of devotion in the orthodox Greek Church from at least the seventh century on. Hence the term icon has come to be attached to any object or image that is outstanding or has a special meaning attached to it.
The earliest iconographical studies were published in the 16th century. Catalogues of emblems and symbols were collected from antique literature and translated into pictorial terms. The most famous of these works is Cesare Ripa’s Iconologia.
In the 19th century, iconography separated itself from archaeology. It associated itself primarily with the significance of religious symbolism in Christian art. Iconography is widely prevalent in Indian religious art as well. Both the east and the west have made use of this science of access the subconscious of the human brain and feed ideas into the host without the host even knowing about it.
Various mudras or gestures appear divine in artforms. Many deities are shown performing asanas. This subconsciously puts them at a higher state of being in the eyes of the common man.
But why is iconography useful in today’s world? Well, there are a few couples of reasons. Iconography creates a visual hierarchy. You can draw the attention of a viewer from one part of the art to the other almost instantaneously. Icons can be used to highlight important bits and pieces of information. Iconography can enhance understanding. They can be associated with commands, concepts and ideas.
