Symbols and Allegories in Art

A Guide to Imagery #17

by Mathilde Battistini

From antiquity, when the gods and goddesses were commonly featured in works of art, through to the twentieth century, when Surrealists drew on archetypes from the unconscious, artists have embedded symbols in their works. As with previous volumes in the Guide to Imagery series, the goal of this book is to provide contemporary readers and museum visitors with the tools to read the hidden meanings in works of art.
This latest volume is divided thematically into four sections featuring symbols related to time, man, space (earth and sky), and allegories or moral lessons. Readers will learn, for instance, that night, the primordial mother of the cosmos, was often portrayed in ancient art as a woman wrapped in a black veil, whereas day or noon was often represented in Renaissance art as a strong, virile man evoking the full manifestation of the sun's energy.
Each entry in the book contains a main reference image in which details of the symbol or allegory being analyzed are called out for discussion. In the margin, for quick access by the reader, is a summary of the essential characteristics of the symbol in question, the derivation of its name, and the religious tradition from which it springs.

Genres: Art, Art History, Nonfiction, Reference, Theory

384 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2005

Reviews

[Claire · Rating 5 out of 5]

one of the most easily referenceable and one of the least biased art historical books regarding the subjects of religious (meaning both Christian and pagan, as well as everything else through history) and other kinds of iconography in art history. highly recommend!!! even if you just glance through it for the pictures, the pictures she's chosen are SO GREAT. I read it cover to cover, because I'm that kind of girl, but it is so full of wonderful info, I'm sure I didn't get everything the first time. will definitely be referencing this for a long time to come, and what a great inspiration for some of my own art history book ideas to come along the line...

[Ester Moya · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. It provides with an overview of many of the symbols that can be found in art. I found it really useful as the symbols explained in the book can be found all around in paintings, architecture, sculpture…

Each symbol has a page dedicated to it with a general overview followed by different practical examples with brief comments. This summarised style makes the book enjoyable and provides with a basic understanding to profane users.

I would have liked a deeper preliminary explanation for each symbol. I went back and forth to Google for most chapters as the introduction for each symbol mentioned some mythological, religious, and historical facts that I did not have preliminary knowledge about.

In general I found the book useful and enjoyable, really graphic and easy to read.

[Alicia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a lovely book for art lovers. There is an adequate amount of information on many symbols, along with page after high quality page of art pictures. The information is digestible because of the simplicity of the chapter divisions. It could easily be a reference book for the lay person or artist.

[Jennpants · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful resource for the curious. There's even a breakdown of the different times of day and their analogous imageries. The nerd in me rejoices.

[Annie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as enjoyable as I had hoped, not as good as other books I have read on the topic but still informative

[sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

Didn't enjoy it as much as I anticipated. Most of the paintings were based on Greek mythology, which felt redundant and useless to me as an amateur in Greek mythology. Perhaps it's my fault, but I was hoping to gain a better understanding of art metaphors and iconography, which I only slightly achieved.

[Gary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good intro into the symbols and meaning in art. Luckily almost no modern art.

[Polona Pačnik · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lušna, ampak bolj osnovna, kot sem pričakovala.

[Nick · Rating 4 out of 5]

A useful addition to the reference shelf.

[Lon · Rating 4 out of 5]

a good study

[Abbey · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75, I wish there were slightly more organization in the book.

[Carol · Rating 2 out of 5]

Big disappointment. I really thought that it would be a good reference book but it wasn’t set up that way. The book is divided into 4 sections: Time, Man, Space and Allegories covering 71 topics. In each section, two pages are devoted to one topic such as “garden”. Every topic is listed in the back of the book, but not alphabetically so you cannot look up the symbolism for a topic such as “doves” (which is not in the book) without going through the whole book. Also, there are many topics not covered in the book. The book is only 5 ½” wide x 8” tall, so the text and reproductions of the artwork are quite small. It is almost impossible to see the detail in some larger works of art such as Michelangelo’s The Last Judgment. But on a positive note, they were very broad in their selection artworks from different periods.

[Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

wonderful sourcebook - organized well. narratives of symbolism seamlessly unfold via great visual examples (predominantly pre-19th Century paintings from the Western canon). schemata enables the artist to not only understand such symbolism, but work out ways to intergrate such visual vocabulary into his/her work. great corollary works from the getty guide to imagery series are: "nature and its symbols" & "magic & alchemy in art" (or something to that extent). all three titles complement each other well - repeating and connecting worlds of visual symbolism.

[Christina Flood · Rating 4 out of 5]

So far, I have learned a lot about the Christian Saints and what they represent in the different works of art. I also have learned so far, that the Moon is regarded as the female counter part to the Sun, I never knew that before.

[Angie Whittemore · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a good reference book, but not exactly the symbols in art I was hoping to learn about. It focuses on symbols of seasons, Gods, months, etc. Good, but not what I was looking for.

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a very informative book on artistic symbolism, but the paintings themselves are so small that the the important symbolic details are hard to see.

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you enjoy art, I think you'll like this!

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fine for its purpose, but the explanations are cursory.