Dictionary of Subjects and Symbols in Art

by James Hall

The understanding and enjoyment of a work of art depends as much on the story it depicts as on the artist's execution of it. But what were once biblical or classical commonplaces are not so readily recognizable today. This book relates in a succinct and readable way the themes, sacred and secular, on which the repertoire of Western art is based. Combined here in a single volume are religious, classical, and historical themes, figures of moral allegory, and characters from romantic poetry that appeared throughout paintings and sculpture in Western art before and after the Renaissance. More than just a dictionary, this text places these subjects in their narrative, historical, or mythological context and uses extensive cross-referencing to enhance and clarify the meanings of these themes for the reader.

The definitive work by which others are compared, this volume has become an indispensable handbook for students and general appreciators alike. This wholly redesigned second edition includes a new insert of images chosen by the author, as well as a new preface and index to highlight the ideas, beliefs, and social and religious customs that form the background of much of this subject matter.

Genres: Art, Reference, Nonfiction, Art History, History, Mythology, Research

384 pages, Paperback

First published November 30, 1973

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.
See this thread for more information.

1918-2007

James A. Hall is listed here under James (two spaces) Hall

Reviews

[Hank Stuever · Rating 4 out of 5]

Recommended to me long ago by the Washington Post's art critic, Paul Richard, as something anyone who writes about meaning, symbols, cues, imagery might want to have on his desk. He was right.

[Paul Bauer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't really expect oblique angles and understatement for comic effect in dictionaries (Ambrose Bierce excepted) but p. 101 had this for Diana:
". . . Latterly she became identified with the moon goddess, LUNA (Selene) who was not remarkable for her chastity."

A very useful reference for art museum visits or rummaging through old art books.

[Cynthia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Invaluable reference tool. Great fun for random readers of dictionaries.

[Liv · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was a huge help during writing my first bachelor paper. I wouldn't be able to analyse "Odyssey" by V.H. the way I did without this book.

[Alice · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a reference book so I haven't read the whole thing, but this book has really helped me understand the works of art we study in homeschool. It is fun to read a few pages at a time or you can just look up a subject. It is arranged alphabetically. Sometimes I wish it would go a little deeper into explanations but it is definitely a good starting point. I just love learning little tidbits such as that a pomegranate represents the Resurrection and that a Griffin can represent the dual nature of Christ - His divinity (bird) and humanity (lion).

[Jason Bergman]

I can't actually give this a rating, because it's a reference book. I "read" it (by which I mean, I read the preface and flipped through a handful of entries) because this found its way on to David Bowie's list of favorite books, and I'm making my way through it.

What can I say about this? It certainly seems like an interesting reference book. I now know that the Hippogriff was not a creature of mythology, but a creation of the poets of the middle ages. That's pretty neat. Seems like there's a lot of that in this book, but I'm not actually going to read it cover to cover. It's a reference volume.

[Ryan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Useful information for certain art, religions, and cultures. It could use more content, though. There are many cultural terms absent here. There are a lot of entries for Roman/Greek mythology, Jewish, and Christian terms, but lacks in entries for Norse mythology or Eastern culture, for example.

[Kayleigh · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have been using this book for my course on iconography. It's really handy and wonderful detailed. I have been reading it for a longer period of time.

[翰林院编修 · Rating 4 out of 5]

西方艺术事典
9.1 (104人评价) 詹姆斯·霍尔 / 迟轲 / 江苏教育出版社 / 2005
《西方艺术事典》具有以下特点：工具性——近1200个条目，讲述西方绘画艺术主题和象征形象按照汉语拼音顺序编排，附有英汉条目对照表和索引，便于查阅行文中条目相互引...

[Michael Pennington · Rating 3 out of 5]

Useful

[Joseph Raffetto · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful reference tool to discover and learn.

[ik.ben.henri · Rating 5 out of 5]

I didn't really read this! Because! .... .... (wait for it) ... ... It's a dictionary!

It's a very handy tool to help you 'read' European Art, especially art from the middle ages, renaissance, baroque but also the 19th - 20th century art styles...

But not only that, if you're interested in our ancient European Religions, Myth's, History and even everyday objects throughout history, you can look it up and find some information. I don't think there isn't a Saint or old greek/roman god not explained in this book.

Don't know if you're looking at a Benedict monk or a Franciscan monk? Use this book! Don't know what music instrument is represented in that painting? Use the book!

It's more handy than the cluttered and very badly written (like this review) information you can find on the internet!

[Tatjana]

I've had this book since the 1980s and I find it as relevant today. It enriched my art history eduction and deepened my appreciation of the lexicon of contemporary work. If you can find it, your will not be disappointed.

[a duck · Rating 4 out of 5]

James Hall (art historian, University of Southampton) provides an overarching look at the symbolic significance of a variety of different subjects in art, largely focused on early modern and medieval Europe. This a great starting point for any researcher.

[Cody · Rating 4 out of 5]

Essential for any visual art lover.

[Elena Traduzioni Oceano Mare · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very detailed and useful information.

[AC]

This is a reference work -- so "read" is not accurate

[Maureen Killip · Rating 5 out of 5]

i love this book :)

[BookLovingLady (deceased Jan. 25, 2023...) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Truly excellent work of reference which I use a lot.

[Octavia Cade · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enormously thorough listing and explanation of subjects and symbols in art, and full of fascinating detail. The title is somewhat misleading, however. It rather gives the appearance of art in general, but Hall's focus is entirely European - if you're looking to understand symbolism in Asian or African art, for instance, look elsewhere. Of the art covered, the subjects and symbols come primarily from two sources: myth and religion. Even those are somewhat limited - the religious influence is entirely Christian, as would largely be expected in Europe, and the mythology is classical. Greek and Roman sources predominate; there's no mention of Celtic or Scandinavian myth here, for instance. That being said, within these limits this appears, to my limited knowledge, a rather exhaustive reference. And though I read the whole thing through, it's one of those reference books that you could open up and dip into and find something informative and interesting on any random page. It's usefully cross-referenced, too, which makes things easier for the reader who's looking to interpret the symbols of a specific painting - a very friendly reference book that works well for the beginner, I reckon. Being a beginner myself I tried this out with a random painting, Raphael's "Madonna of the Goldfinch", and now I actually understand what all the details mean, so yay!