ICONOGRAPHIC SCHEMES AND METHODS OF REPRESENTATION

Iconography, the science of identification, description, classification, and interpretation

of symbols, themes, and subject matter in the visual arts. The word ‘iconography’ comes from
two Greek words, eikon (image) and graphe (writing), so the word ‘iconography’ conveys the
idea that an image can tell a story. But the study of the iconography of an image is actually
more complex, since it involves understanding the specific culturally constructed symbols and
motifs in a work of art that can help us to identify the subject matter. To understand the symbols,
you have to be familiar with their culturally specific meaning. In the 19th century, iconography
became divorced from archaeology and was concerned primarily with the incidence and
significance of religious symbolism in Christian art.

This is a complex scene from

Basilica di Sant'Apollinare. We can look
at it in few fragments. On the very top of
the scene we can see figure of Jesus, and
two evangelist on each of his side. They
are represented whit they main motives
(the Angel for Saint Matthew, the Lion
for Saint Mark, the Ox for Saint Luke and
the Eagle for Saint John) and wings. The
evangelists spread the news, the Word, so
they had to be fast and wings,
figuratively, helped them with that. On
the bottom we can also see Jesus in form
of a shepherd with 12 lambs on a green meadow. 12 lams are the apostles and meadow is
heaven. In the middle of the scene we can see a big cross which is a symbol of Christianity.
At the intersection there is, once again, figure of Jesus, and
at each horizontal ending is one Greek letter, alpha and
omega. Alpha is the first letter of Greek alphabet and omega
the last, whit that we can conclude this means that Jesus is
beginning and end.

This is the entrance to St. Apolinare. This whole concept is divided into two parts, holy
zone (carried zone) and zone that carries. On top of main entrance is lunette where the scene is
 shown. Here Jesus is represented as a good host because he is welcoming his ‘lambs’, his
believers into his house, the Church. Below is some kind of calendar
which shows which jobs are done when so that lower classes cloud do
proper farming etc. they were in form of pictures because majority of
people were illiterate in that time. Top middle of lunette is showing
Jesus with both of his hands up and palms towards us. Whit that he
wants to prove to us thah he was
tortured. Below him are soul which are separated into two
groups, one on the left and other on the right. Group on the left
is moving towards heaven, while group on the right is going
into the monsters mouth (hell). Who is going where is decided
below where dead are awakening and their souls are put on a
scale, the scale are holding the angles.

First cross, the romanesque cross shows Jesus in such way he doesn’t look dead or even
romanesque tortured, he is not falling down from the cross. There in no drama, no
action, Jesus is god and he is shown that way. In comparison to gothic
Jesus looks sick, tortured and starved, his
eyes are closed, there is blood. This gothic
representation tells as that Jesus is a man
as well as god. Main focus is on people and
showing them that Jesus is one of them.
Renaissance representation also doesn't
capture the pain and torment as gothics
does. Everything is very elegant and calm,
angels are collecting his blood in chalices,
sky is blue the whole background is very
calming, no one is panicking. In the
background we can see sun coming out, the symbol for new beginning.
Red strings on angels are symbols of victory, red is color of life and
death, and Jesus is both. In renaissance reason is more important than
emotions and that is visible on this painting because humans below give
us impression that they know, they are educated, they now Jesus will
come back and that this is not the end.

renaissance
https://smarthistory.org/introduction-iconographic-analysis/
https://www.britannica.com/art/iconography