Iconography

In art history, the study of the conventional meanings of iconographic art, which is art that is meant to convey some doctrine or traditional story. The iconographer identifies the saints represented on cathedral windows, for example, by noting the tools or animals that were included in the pictures specifically for the sake of identification.

There is a vaguer popular sense of the term: a list of the familiar character types, cliches, and celebrities in a given field.

Isn't there also a more specific sense that refers only to those icons characteristically used in Orthodox worship (Greek, Russian, etc.)?

I think that this is a variation on the art-history meaning--the catalogue of translations that apply to a specific tradition. But re-word if you want.

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We could probably write something about Erwin Panofsky, and the distinction between iconography (identifying probable meanings for visual metaphors) and iconology (more like visual semiotics).

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By the way, how do you add a talk page?

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