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

From an architectural point of view, swimming pools have a rich iconography, with their references to Art Deco, modernism, and minimalism, with a sometimes austere aesthetic. —Nicolas Milon, Architectural Digest, 30 Nov. 2025

That period of her life, marked by dinners on Second Avenue and nights along the Cumberland River, shines in her memory, thanks in part to the whimsical lights and colors of a carousel adorned with Tennessee historical figures and iconography. —Diana Leyva, Nashville Tennessean, 24 Nov. 2025

The latest Wicked movies ratchet this iconography up even higher. —Time, 21 Nov. 2025

The director captures the town’s desolation and strife through magical realist imagery mixed with flashes of religious iconography, revealing how such a place can still seem enchanting for a young boy who grew up there. —Jordan Mintzer, HollywoodReporter, 21 Nov. 2025

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