The iconography of a group of people consists of the symbols, pictures, and objects which represent their ideas and way of life.
...the iconography of revolutionary posters. [+ of]
...religious iconography.
iconography in British English
(ˌaɪkɒˈnɒɡrəfɪ)
nounWord forms: plural-phies
1.
a.
the symbols used in a work of art or art movement
b.
the conventional significance attached to such symbols
2.
a collection of pictures of a particular subject, such as Christ
3.
the representation of the subjects of icons or portraits, esp on coins
Derived forms
iconographer (ˌicoˈnographer)
noun
iconographic (aɪˌkɒnəˈɡræfɪk) or iconographical (iˌconoˈgraphical)
adjective
iconography in American English
(ˌaɪkəˈnɑgrəfi)
noun
1.
the art of representing or illustrating by pictures, figures, images, etc.
2.
the study of symbols, themes, and subject matter in the visual arts through the identification, description, classification, and definition of these elements
3. Word forms: pluralˌicoˈnographies
icons collectively; esp., any system, use, or collection of symbols or images ofa particular artist, artistic or historical period, religious tradition, etc.
Hindu iconography, the iconography of Blake
4.
iconology
Derived forms
iconographer (ˌicoˈnographer)
noun
iconographic (iˌconoˈgraphic) (aɪˌkɑnəˈgræfɪk)
adjective or iˌconoˈgraphical
Word origin
ML iconographia < Gr eikonographia, a sketch, description: see icono- & -graphy
Examples of 'iconography' in a sentence
iconography
The ambiguity of his iconography gave his art its power.
The Times Literary Supplement (2010)
It has found a niche in western cultural iconography.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
He may be a purveyor of old-fashioned spectacle, but his iconography is modern.