Reading the Image

SEMIOTIC PLANE
 Semiotics is the study of “signs”
Signifier- material/ physical aspect
Signified- non-material aspect as concept and
value
 Covers the elements and the general technical
and physical aspects of the work
 Visual Elements
– principles of design and elements of art
 Choice of medium and technique
– material and style
 Format of work
– symbolic elements, figurative
representations
 Physical Properties and marks of the work
– significations of the work
(importance/relevance)
ICONIC PLANE
 Choice of the subject
 Presentation of the image and its relationship
to the viewer
 Positioning of the figure/s
 Style of figuration
CONTEXTUAL PLANE
 Human and social implications
 Broad knowledge of history and the economic,
political and cultural conditions of the society
 Personal and social circumstances of its
production
 Context of the artist’s entire body of work
The Third of May 1808 by FRANCISCO DE GOYA
Oil on Canvas, 266 x 345 cm
(1814) Museo del Prado, Madrid, Spain