ABSTRACT
The iconographic approach to works of art primarily considers the meaning of subject matter. The term comes from two Greek words-eikon, meaning “image,” and graphe, meaning “writing.” Iconography is thus the way in which an artist “writes” the image, as well as what the image itself “writes”—that is, the story it tells. In an iconographic analysis of a work, it is possible, although not always advisable, to ignore the formal qualities. Nevertheless, as a general rule, iconographic studies focus on subject matter rather than on form.
