iconography

noun

ico·​nog·​ra·​phy ˌī-kə-ˈnä-grə-fē 

plural iconographies

1

: the traditional or conventional images or symbols associated with a subject and especially a religious or legendary subject

2

: pictorial material relating to or illustrating a subject

3

: the imagery or symbolism of a work of art, an artist, or a body of art

4

: iconology

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

the iconography of the 1960s

Recent Examples on the Web

And around the world, wars and religious persecution have destroyed prayer books, Bibles, Qurans, Torah scrolls, statues, iconography, shrines, relics and many other materials considered venerable. — Angie Leventis Lourgos, Chicago Tribune, 1 Nov. 2026

In art and iconography Lakshmana is typically represented as a part of a group centered on Rama rather than as an individual deity. — Tamanna Nangia, Encyclopedia Britannica, 30 Oct. 2026

But in the basement of the present-day Hunter's on Halsted — where Egyptian iconography and a pentagram can be found — there is a legend that a human sacrifice did take place. — Adam Harrington, CBS News, 27 Oct. 2026

Both films are drenched with perverse subversions of romantic iconography to gleefully playful effect, right down to their respective Cupid and Prince Charming killer masks which look like they could have been crafted by the same person. — Alexandra Heller-Nicholas, IndieWire, 21 Oct. 2026

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Late Latin īconographia "making of images," borrowed from Greek eikonographía "sketch, description" (Late Greek, "making of images"), from eikono- icono- + -graphia -graphy

First Known Use

1678, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Rhymes for iconography

• bibliography
• choreography
• chromatography
• crystallography
• hagiography
• lexicography
• metallography
• myelography
• oceanography
• physiography
• plethysmography
• polarography