Iconography
Iconography is the branch of art history which studies the identification, description, and the interpretation of the content of images: the subjects depicted, the particular compositions and details used to do so, and other elements that are distinct from artistic style. The word
iconography comes from the Greek εἰκών and γράφειν. A secondary meaning is the production of religious images, called icons, in the Byzantine and Orthodox Christian tradition; that is covered at Icon. In art history, "an iconography" may also mean a particular depiction of a subject in terms of the content of the image, such as the number of figures used, their placing and gestures. The term is also used in many academic fields other than art history, for example semiotics and media studies, and in general usage, for the content of images, the typical depiction in images of a subject, and related senses. Sometimes distinctions have been made between
Iconology and
Iconography, although the definitions, and so the distinction made, varies.