ABSTRACT
Regardless of any intellectual debates and criticism, Erwin Panofsky's theories exerted huge influence and have been at the forefront of art-historical (theoretical) developments for more than seven decades. Panofsky's collected essays discuss a variety of issues and ideas, thus attracting or inspiring many writers and thinkers. Due to the complex nature of Panofsky's Meaning in the Visual Arts as a collection of essays on a great range of subjects, it is hard to identify any particular schools of thought in the ideas it contains. Throughout the years, many of Panofsky's views have also been elaborated upon and expanded by a number of scholars, and, although iconology had been mostly applied to representational arts, such as painting and sculpture, architectural historians in particular also use this method in their studies. Scholars have also been considered lately how iconology can be used to elucidate meaning in the artwork, examining its strengths and challenges.
