Words about Words about Icons: Iconologology and the Study of African Art
1988; College Art Association; Volume: 47; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1080/00043249.1988.10792399
ISSN2325-5307
Autores Tópico(s)African history and culture analysis
ResumoIf we understand "iconology" to mean "the study of icons" ("words about icons") then "iconologology" may be said to refer to "the study of iconology" ("words about words about icons"). Discourse on iconology, as Jan Bialostocki explains in a historically focused essay on the subject, goes back to the sixteenth century with its manuals of symbols, allegories, and personifications. One of the better known of these works is Cesare Ripa's Iconologia, which was first published in Rome in 1593. In the course of time, much has been written both about iconology and about iconography, the two terms' having been used interchangeably during much of the nineteenth century. Scholars concerned with iconological and iconographical issues during earlier centuries focused their attention primarily on motif typologies and subject-matter classifications. Not surprisingly, many directed their studies towards Christian subject matter and the systematic grouping and identification of particular images and motifs. Early iconographical analysis in non-Western art tended to concentrate on Buddhist traditions in various contexts in India, China, and Japan. Thus, studies of iconography and iconology have been concerned with art forms that are characterized not only by relatively standard subjects and forms of representation but often also by consistency over time and across geographical and political boundaries. It is not without significance that both Christianity and Buddhism are also associated with important forms of textual documentation and that both emphasize verisimilitude in representation.
Referência(s)