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The word iconography is also used to refer to the archetypical images, scenes and characters used in symbolic representation, such as the Tarot. For example, in films of the " Western" genre, such tropes as "cattle drive", "saloon", "gunfight", "gunfighter" and "sheriff" constantly recur.
In art history, iconology is the study of the conventional meanings of works of art that are meant to convey some doctrine or traditional story. For example, through iconology, the saints represented on cathedral windows can be identified by noting the tools or animals that were included in the pictures specifically for the sake of identification.
In Eastern Orthodoxy, the church has established an extensive set of rules and guidelines to be used for writing icons, both in general and for particular icons. (Note on word usage: icons are not "painted", they are "written." They are also "read" by the viewer, rather than just viewed.) Because the icons communicate theological truth, they are often just as careful to write icons correctly as they would be to compose written doctrines and dogmas. Eastern Orthodox theologians often find it useful to "quote from" or refer to a particular icon when making a point, just as they might cite a document written by an earlier theologian or council. The responsibility of writing icons is often carried out by monks. A saintIn general, the term saint is used to refer to someone thought to be especially virtuous and holy. This person may or may not be canonized, recognized or venerated by a religion. The word "saint" comes from the Latin word sanctus which means "holy. Variou must be canonized by a synod of bishops before icons of the saint can be written and put into use and veneratedLatin veneratio Greek dulia In Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy, veneration or veneration of saints is a special act of honoring a dead person who has been identified as singular in the traditions of the religion, and through them honoring God who made t; however a local cult commonly inspires unofficial icons, and miracles associated with such icons are adduced as evidence in the process of formal canonizationCanonization is the process used in traditional Christianity of recognizing those persons who have lived exemplary lives suitable of identifying them as Christian Saints. It is currently practiced by the Roman Catholic Church and its appendages, by the Ea.
The background in icons is often goldFor alternative meanings, see gold (disambiguation Gold is a chemical element in the periodic table that has the symbol Au ( L. aurum and atomic number 79. A soft, shiny, yellow, heavy, malleable, ductile (trivalent and univalent) transition metal, gold d colored, or some kind of gold leaf. This most often represents the radiance of Heaven. If it is intended to depict a scene on Earth rather than Heaven, some buildings or mountains will be included to indicate this.
A nimbusNimbus may mean: a halo of light or mist around an object Nimbus cloud Nimbus program of weather satellites Nimbus (motorcycle) Nimbus 2000 broomsticks from the Harry Potter series. of light is often shown around the heads of those who believe in God, to symbolically show that they are illumined by the Light of Jesus Christ. Occasionally, this is used to make pointed distinctions, as in some icons of the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ that show a nimbus around the crucified thiefSaint Dismas (sometimes spelled Dysmas is the apocryphal name given to one of the thieves who was crucified alongside Christ according to the Gospel of Luke 23:39-43: :And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on him, saying, If thou be Christ, who believed in Jesus, but not around the crucified thief who cursed him instead.
Jesus and the saints are almost never shown smiling, frowning or angry, but are intended to appear passionless and sober. This appearance is often mistaken for sadness, but it is intended to show their seriousness, and their freedom from the vicissitudes of emotion.
In Byzantine, Greek and Russian icons of Jesus and Mary, the color redRed is a color at the lowest frequencies of light discernible by the human eye. Red light has a wavelength of roughly 700 nm. Oxygenated blood is red due to the presence of hemoglobin. Red light is the first to be absorbed by sea water, so that many fish represents divinity, while the color blueBlue (from Old High German "blao" shining) is one of the three primary additive colors; blue light has the shortest wavelength (about 470 nm) of the three primary colors. A clear sky on a sunny day is colored blue because of Rayleigh scattering of the lig represents humanity. Accordingly, Mary is shown wearing something blue, covered with a red outer garment, to show that her humanity was "overshadowed by the Holy Spirit", i.e. God. On the contrary, Jesus is shown wearing something red, covered by a blue outer garment, to show that he was God who "put on" human flesh.