Iconography and Iconology

For Methods and Approaches in the History of Art
(FA 197b)

Contents

• Specialized Subject Terms for Research and Online Searching
• General Subject Dictionaries
• Dictionaries and Indexes for Symbols and Subjects Depicted in Art
• Judeo-Christian Literature Sources for Iconography
• Resources for Classical and Mythological Subjects
• Classical and Mythological Sources for Iconography
• Resources for Nature Subjects
• Resources for Buddhist and Eastern Subjects
• Resources for Proverbs

Power words for seaching iconography:

• Name of figure + art (e.g., David, King of Israel -- Art)
• Noun (object, concept, or collective) + in art (e.g., Devil in art)
• symbolism
• themes
• motives
• image

Table of contents

General Subject Dictionaries

• Grove Art Online

  • Key article: Iconography and Iconology

  • Other important articles:

    • Allegory
    • Symbol

• Encyclopedia Britannica Online

• Provides electronic access to a wide variety of information on mythological figures, historical persons, the Bible and biblical stories, and other iconographical topics.

Table of contents

Dictionaries and Indexes for Symbols and Subjects Depicted in Art

• Symbols and Allegories
  Description and cover. Provides tools to read the hidden meanings in works of art, dividing into four sections featuring symbols related to time, man, space (earth and sky), and allegories or moral lessons. Part of the Getty's Guide to Imagery series. An outstanding and essential resource.
  Author: Matilde Battistini (Los Angeles: The J. Paul Getty Museum, 2005)
  Creative Arts Reference N 7740 .B2913 2005

• Dictionary of Symbolism
  Author: Hans Biedermann; trans. James Hulbert (New York: Facts on File, 1992)
  Stacks AZ 108 .B5313 1992 (non-circulating)
  

• Dictionary of Subjects and Symbols in Art (a key print resource--see LATTE page for sample pages)
  Excellent place to start with any iconography quest.. Known as "Hall's," after its author James Hall. See also next book.
  Creative Arts Reference N 7560 .H34
  

• Illustrated Dictionary of Symbols in Eastern and Western Art (a key print resource--see LATTE page for sample pages)
  Another basic dictionary by James Hall.
  Creative Arts Reference N 7740 .H35 1994

• The Dictionary of Symbols in Western Art
  Author: Sarah Carr-Gomm (New York: Facts on File, 1995)
  Creative Arts Reference N 7740 .C2 1995

• Encyclopedia of Comparitive Iconography: Themes Depicted in Works of Art (a key print resource--see LATTE page for sample pages)
  Organized as a series of essays on the subjects by experts in the field. Orders biblical, mythological, and literary narratives according to actions perfromed by the characters, to situations in which they find themselves, and to concepts relating to these situations and actions. Discusses some of the changing interpretations as the themes pass through different ages, cultures, and forms. Includes seven extensive indexes.
  Creative Arts Reference N 7560 .E53 1998

Many Web sites of major art museums now provide some sort of keyword or subject search engine to find works of art. Here are a few sample sites:

• National Gallery of Art (Washington, D.C.)

  • Search the Collection

  • Subject Search

  • Expanded Search

• 
  

• Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco
  

  • Advanced ImageBase Search (use the keyword box to search symbols or characters)
    

• Project Perseus: An Evolving Digital Library (based at Tufts University)

  • Art and Archaeology (see the search box in upper right corner)

Christian Iconography (New and Old Testaments)

• The Oxford Guide to People and Places of the Bible
  "Articles describe the people and places that appear in the New Testament and Old Testament of the Bible: from prophets, apostles, and groups (such as Hebrews and Angels) to kingdoms and countries, cities and mountains where Biblical events took place." Electronic version of the 2001 ed.

• Gospel Figures in Art
  Description and cover. Part of the Getty's Guide to Imagery series. An outstanding and essential resource.
  Author: Stefano Zuffi (Los Angeles: The J. Paul Getty Museum, 2003)
  Creative Arts Reference N 8030 .Z8413 2003

• Angels and Demons in Art
  Description and cover. "Analyzes artists' representations of angels and demons and heaven and hell from the Judeo-Christian tradition." Part of the Getty's Guide to Imagery series. An outstanding and essential resource.
  Author: Rosa Georgi (Los Angeles: The J. Paul Getty Museum, 2005)
  Creative Arts Reference N 8090 .G5513 2005

• Signs & Symbols in Christian Art: With illustrations from Paintings of the Renaissance (a key print resource--see LATTE page for sample pages)
  Author: George Ferguson (New York: Oxford University Press, 1954; reprint, 1959, etc.)
  Creative Arts Reference N 7830 .F37

• Iconography of Christian Art
  Author: Gerturd Schiller; trans. Janet Seligman (Greenwich, CT: New York Graphic Society, 1971).
  Vol. 1: Christ's incarnation, childhood, baptism, temptation, transfiguration, works, and miracles; vol. 2: The Passion of Christ. Translation of the 1st and 2d vols of the 2d ed. of Ikonographie der christlichen Kunst.
  Stacks N 7830 .S35132

• Iconographie de l'art chrétien [Iconography of Christian Art]
  Vol. 1: General introduction; vol. 2. Iconography of the Bible; vol. 3: Iconography of the saints.
  Author: Louis Réau (Paris, Presses universitaires de France, 1955-59). Text in French.
  Creative Arts Reference N 7830 .R37

• Lexicon der christlichen Ikonographie [Dictionary of Christian Iconography]
  8 vols. Vol. 1-4: General iconography; vol. 5-8: Iconography of the saints.
  Author: Englebert Kirschbaum (Rome: Herder, 1968-69). Text in German.
  Creative Arts Reference N 8010 .L4

• The Catholic Encyclopedia
  Despite the age of this electronic version, it remains an excellent resource for searching saints, Biblical figures, and Christian iconography. 15 vols. 1907-14.

• The Oxford Companion to Christian Art and Architecture (a key print resource--see LATTE page for sample pages)
  Offers very good descriptions of Old and New Testament themes and subjects and Christian saints and iconography.
  Creative Arts Reference N 7830 .M87 1996
  

• Iconographic Index to New Testament Subjects Represented in Photographs and Slides of Paintings in the Visual Collections, Fine Arts Library, Harvard University. Vol. 1: Narrative Paintings of the Italian School
  Excellent subject index to Italian School paintings of narrative subjects in the New Testament and in the apocryphal literature related to them. Begins with an index of concepts, terms, and proper names and then catalogs the paintings in the collection divided into seven sections: A. John the Baptist and Early Life of Mary; B. Birth and Youth of Christ; C. Public Life of Christ from His Baptism until the Passion; D. Passion of Christ, Entombment, and Descent into Limbo; E. Resurrection, Appearance, and Ascension of Christ, Pentecost, Later Life and Assumption of the Virgin; F. Lives and Acts of the Apostles of Christ; G. Revelation of John, The Apocalypse.
  Authors: Helen E. Roberts; Rachel Hall (New York: Garland Publishing, 1992).
  Creative Arts Reference ND 1430 .R6 1992

• Olga's Gallery: Religion Notes Index
  Short essays on the most common biblical personages and events from the Old and New Testaments with links to art works that depict them. Worth putting up with pop-ups, etc. A useful starting Web resource, but not at all authoritative.

• Olga's Gallery: New Testament Notes
  Short entries on the events of Christ's Passion (not the entire New Testament) with links to many art works depicting them.

Saints

• Saints in Art
  Description and cover. "Presents the characteristic features of more than one hundred saints often encountered in sacred Western art." Part of the Getty's Guide to Imagery series. An outstanding and essential resource.
  Author: Rosa Giorgi (Los Angeles: The J. Paul Getty Museum, 2003).
  Creative Arts Reference ND 1430 .G5513 2003

• Oxford Dictionary of Saints
  "Provides concise accounts of the lives, cults, relationships through patronage, and artistic associations of more than a thousand saints." Electronic version of the 5th ed. (2003) .

• Post-Biblical Saints Art Index: A Locator of Paintings, Sculptures, Frescoes, Manuscript Illuminations, Sketches, Woodcuts and Engraving Created from the 4th Century to 1950, with a Directory of the Institutions Holding Them
  Author: Mercedes Rochelle (Jefferson, NC: McFarland Co., 1991).
  Creative Arts Reference N 8079.5 .R63 1994

• Olga's Gallery: Christian Saints Index
  Short essays on the most common saints with links to art works where they appear. Worth putting up with pop-ups, etc. A useful starting Web resource, but not at all authoritative.

Old Testament Subjects

• Old Testament Figures in Art
  Description and cover. Part of the Getty's Guide to Imagery series. An outstanding and essential resource.
  Author: Chiara de Capoa (Los Angeles: The J. Paul Getty Museum, 2003)
  Creative Arts Reference N 8020 .D4 2003

• Iconographic Index to Old Testament Subjects Represented in Photographs and Slides of Paintings in the Visual Collections, Fine Arts Library, Harvard University
  Author: Helen E. Roberts (New York: Garland Publishing, 1987).
  Creative Arts Reference ND 1430 .R63 1987

• King David in the Index of Christian Art
  Published by Princeton University.
  Creative Arts Reference N 8110 .K5 2002

Table of contents

Judeo-Christian Literature Sources for Iconography

• Holy Bible, King James Version, Old and New Testaments, with the Apocrypha
  From the Electronic Text Center, University of Virginia.

Table of contents

Resources for Classical and Mythological Subjects

• Gods and Heroes in Art
  Description and cover. Describes the legendary characters of classical antiquity "in entries summarizing their distinctive stories, their special attributes, and the ways in which artists have depicted them." Part of the Getty's Guide to Imagery series. An outstanding and essential resource.
  Author: Lucia Impelluso (Los Angeles: The J. Paul Getty Museum, 2003)
  Creative Arts Reference N 7760 .I4713 2003

• href="http://resources.library.brandeis.edu/login?url=http://www.oxfordreference.com.resources.library.brandeis.edu/views/BOOK_SEARCH.html?book=t133&subject=s3&authstatuscode=200">The Oxford Companion to Classical Civilization
  Provides an authoritative survey of the Greek and Roman worlds in all their aspects.
  Edited by Simon Hornblower and Antony Spawforth. Electronic version of the Oxford University Press 2003 ed.

• A Dictionary of Pictorial Subjects from Classical Literature: A Guide to Their Identification in Works of Art
  Author: Percy Preston (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1983).
  Creative Arts Reference N 7760 .P68 1983

• The Oxford Guide to Classical Mythology in the Arts, 1300-1990s
  Author: Jane Davidson Reid (New York: Oxford University Press, 1993).
  Creative Arts Reference NX 650 .M9 R45 1993

• Mythological and Classical World Art Index: A Locator of Paintings, Sculptures, Frescoes, Manuscript Illuminations, Sketches, Woodcuts and Engravings Executed 1200 B.C. to A.D. 1900, with a Directory of the Institutions Holding Them (a key print resource--see LATTE page for sample pages)
  Offers a subject index and and artwork locator for historical illustrations from Greek and Roman mythology and the classical world.
  Author: Mercedes Rochelle (Jefferson, NC: McFarland Co., 1991).
  Creative Arts Reference N 7760 .R63 1991

• Lexicon iconographicum mythologiae classicae (LIMC) [Iconographic Dictionary of Classical Mythology] (a key print resource--see LATTE page for sample pages)
  Exhaustive iconography of Greek, Etruscan, and Roman mythology. Names of mythological figures are in German. An international project--articles appear in either German, French, or English depending on their author's nationality. (Zurich, etc.: Artemis, 1981-99). 8 vols. + index.
  Creative Arts Reference N 7760 .L49 1981

• Olga's Gallery: Ancient Greek and Roman Myths Index
  Short essays on mythological figures with links to art works where they appear. Worth putting up with pop-ups, etc. A useful starting Web resource, but not at all authoritative.

Table of contents

Classical and Mythological Sources for Iconography

• Bulfinch's Mythology
  For over a century and a half, Bulfinch's Mythology has been the text by which the great tales of the gods and goddesses, Greek and Roman antiquity; Scandinavian, Celtic, and Oriental fables and myths; and the age of chivalry have been known. Includes: The Age of Fable, or Stories of Gods and Heroes; The Age of Chivalry, or Legends of King Arthur; and Legends of Charlemagne, or Romance of the Middle Ages. Each section has its own search engine.

• Classical Myth: The Ancient Sources
  Includes images, texts, and a list of attributes. Maintained by the Department of Greek and Roman Studies, University of Victoria.

Table of contents

Resources for Nature Subjects

• Nature and Its Symbols
  Description and cover. This volume includes chapters on plants, flowers, fruits, and animals of the earth, air, and water, as well as fantastical creatures such as centaurs, griffons, and dragons--all used as symbols in art. Part of the Getty's Guide to Imagery series. An outstanding and essential resource.
  Author: Lucia Impelluso (Los Angeles: The J. Paul Getty Museum, 2004)
  Creative Arts Reference N 7680 .I4713 2004

Resources for Buddhist and Eastern Subjects

• A Dictionary of Buddhism
  Includes entries on the history and doctrines of the major Buddhist schools.
  Author: Damien Keown. Electronic version of the Oxford University Press 2003 ed.

Resources for Proverbs

• Proverb Iconography: An International Bibliography
  Authors: Wolfgang Mieder and Janet Sobieski (New York: Peter Lang, 1999).
  Creative Arts Reference N 7780 .M54 1999

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