Iconology, Its Development Throughout History Report

During the month of March 2009, the wax icon of First Lady Michele Obama will be on display at the Madame Tussauds where it will join those of previous First Ladies including Jacqueline Kennedy and Hilary Clinton (Miller). The wax immortalization of American First Ladies is part of a long human practice that has carried history and symbolism through various kinds of icons. From Ancient Egypt to the Greek Orthodox Church and much more recently to 16^th century Elizabethan England, human history and culture have found a most convenient vehicle in iconography.

The term iconography has undergone various stages in its meanings over time. The various meanings that the term has acquired are indicative of the value or meaning that has been attributed to images over time. The term iconography was first used in the 18^th century and it referred to the study of engravings as they were used to illustrate art in books and on antiques. (Iconography). With time, however, the term has been expanded to cover the entire range of known human illustrations. The term today is hardly used without a qualifying word to indicate a specific iconographic area owing to the very many divisions that exist in the classification of icons (Iconography).

One of the institutions that have used icons for both historical and symbolic purposes is the Church. The Catholic and Orthodox churches have a huge collection of Saints whose collections will be found displayed in the churches or in people’s homes. The Greek Orthodox Church has especially many icons and this will be found in many different places (Auxentios). In fact, Auxentios advises that for parts of Greece that declined to move to the Western Calendar in 1924 and retained the Old Calendar that the Orthodox Church had used since inception, an orthodox culture seems to have emerged at the center of which is the presence of many different icons. In parts of rural Greece icons will be found in private homes, public buildings, in cars, in trains, on roadsides, in markets, restaurants, and in virtually all areas that human beings visit (Auxentios). The use of icons in the Orthodox Church is both historical and controversial. Since the icons in both the Orthodox and Catholic churches are the images of people that these churches venerate as Holy, the two have faced opposition from the Protestant churches who accuse the two of going against Biblical teachings against the deification of images (Auxentios). The debate about the use of icons in these churches led to protracted discussions and especially in the Orthodox Church. For a period of about 120 years during the 1^st century, the place of icons in the church caused much controversy and was the cause of many deaths for those who supported the hanging of icons and the issue was only resolved in 787 AD (Auxentios). In accepting the use of icons by their faithful, the Orthodox explain that man is incapable of thinking without the presence of physical images; this is because the man himself is made of body and soul and the use of physical objects enables the understanding of spiritual things (Auxentios). Christian iconology is mainly symbolic but is also used for the education of the faithful. Christianity, including the Protestants, has some well-established icons. Some icons that are universally accepted by all Christians for their symbolic significance are the Dove, which symbolizes the Holy Spirit, and the Serpent, which symbolizes evil (Iconography). The Catholic Church has a very comprehensive list of icons that include both Biblical characters and people who have reached Sainthood following church tradition (Iconography).

Although the first true large-scale study of iconology was first done in the 19^th century, attempts at studying the subject scholarly had been made in Italy in the 16^th century (Iconography -Historical Development). Amongst those who tried a scholarly study of iconology in the 16^th century are Cesare Ripa, Vincenzo Cartari, and Piero Valeriano (Iconography – Historical Development). Studies on iconology before the 19^th century mainly concentrated on style but beginning the 19^th century the focus shifted to other matters especially the beauty associated with the works of art. Most importantly, during this century, studies in iconology were geared to the use of the subject in studying various areas of human endeavor. Coming to the 20^th century, studies in iconography had developed to the point where artistic works could be used to determine not just the date of an icon but also to study other areas of human society (Iconography – Historical Development). Today, iconography is studied in many universities as “art history”.

The story of Queen Elizabeth 1 shows the use that has been made of iconography as a powerful tool of human communication and to influence public policy. The iconic images of the Queen that made it to the public domain during her reign were mainly the brainchild of professional PR aides who knew the power of iconology to deliver powerful messages that could shape not only public opinion but also appeal to both the emotion and the intellect. As a result, when the Queen was supposed to appeal to the elite in society, a portrait was made which showed her dressed in a way that emphasized her “virginity, charity and wisdom” (Cooper). Cooper further notes that the production of portraits of the Queen was never left in the hands of individual artists who could easily produce icons that could portray the Queen badly. By the fifth year of her reign in 1563, a clear set of instructions that were to be followed when making a portrait of the Queen was issued (Cooper). One of the provisions of this set of rules required that no artist would go to draw a portrait of the Queen unless he or she was using a model pattern of her face that the authorities provided and from which the artists were supposed to copy (Cooper). Not only was maximum use made of iconology to present the Queen in a positive light, but it was also guaranteed that her image was all over the Kingdom when new coins were issued in 1558 bearing her image (Cooper). This was meant to not only increase the Queen’s visibility but also to associate her with the initiative of the newly minted coins.

Iconography has been used to send messages that have had immense influences on human behavior throughout history. The power of iconology is best appreciated when we take into consideration the different symbolic messages that icons pass to different people. For this reason, iconology could be used to educate, influence, or even pass coded messages.

References

Auxentios, Hieromonk. “The Iconic and Symbolic in Orthodox Iconography”. Orthodox Christian Information Center. Web.

Cooper, Tarnya. “Queen Elizabeth’s Public Face: Tarnya Cooper Looks at the Wider Iconography of Elizabeth, and How This Evolved During Her Reign.” History Today. 53.5 (2003)

“Iconography.” The Columbia Encyclopedia. New York: Columbia, 6^th ed. 2007

“Iconography – Historical Development” Iconography – Historical Development, Cesare Ripa (fl. 1593), Émile MÂle (1862–1954), Erwin Panofsky (1892–1968)

Miller, Sunlen. “Michelle Obama Gets a Wax Figure – and Spot in Madame Tussauds”. ABC News. (2009). Web.