iconography
noun
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
Andrew Williams, Forbes.com, 14 Apr. 2025
Snow White’s blue and yellow and red gown would become her signature outfit, an increasingly important piece of Disney’s visual iconography and of the princesses that followed.
—Constance Grady, Vox, 21 Mar. 2025
The sketch is an expression of all the things Everybody’s Live does best: sincere love and admiration for cultural iconography, forced through a sieve of surreal frivolity.
—Kathryn Vanarendonk, Vulture, 19 Mar. 2025
What she’s done is she’s used this very particular language, iconography and symbolism that so explicitly represents a culture that is specific to South Central and is using that to reach a wider international community.
—Julissa James, Los Angeles Times, 19 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for iconography
Cite this Entry
“Iconography.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/iconography. Accessed 22 Apr. 2025.
Copy Citation
Share