Chapter 1 – Iconology:

- Chapter 1- Iconology: is about decoding/interpreting the content and symbolism in an

image.
- Iconology is the branch of art history that deals with the content of a visual text and
its meaning
- What is a Visual Text?
o A combination of visual features arranged together to get a message across.
This can be a painting, photograph, film, videogame, book cover & more.
- What is an ICON:
o traditionally associated with “portrait” style images concentrating on Christ &
Mary. The term became used for any object or image that has some special
meaning attached to it.
o It is a pictorial representation that does not need words to explain.
- Types of Painting:
1- Landscape, Seascape, Townscape, Cityscape
2- Portrait
3- Still Life
4- Genre Painting (ordinary scenes from everyday life)
- How to Read?
o 1) What Type of ‘genre’ is it?
o 2) What is the subject matter
o 3) The location or setting of a particular scene
o 4) The historical period depicted
o 5) Season or time of year shown
o 6) The time of day
o 7) Particular instant (what is happening ‘now’?)
- “What you see is what you get”
o Makes us look at a painting more closely
o Focuses attention on the visual evidence provided by the painting itself, the
text rather than the context
o Provides generic methodology
- Iconology, or the Study of Symbols:
o Erwin Panofsky (1892-1968) German Art Historian: Wrote a seminal book:
‘Studies in Iconology’ in 1939 Howells, Negreiros (p24): ‘presents us with a
structured, progressive and logical system for iconological analysis that we
can use for ourselves and in images of our choice.’
- Panofsky’s 3 levels of Understanding:
o First level (‘natural’) – This is the interpretation of meaning through the
familiar. What do we see here? What are we looking at?
o Second level (‘conventional’) – This level involves a deeper understanding of
the actions or facts presented in the first level. A prior knowledge of concepts
and conventional meaning allow the artistic motifs and visual codes in the
image to communicate more and in turn we are able to recognize the events
taking place in the image.
o Third level (‘intrinsic) – Unlike the previous two levels, this level
communicates things that the creator of the image may not have consciously
been thinking about. Through what we know of the world and linking the
objects or codes in the work to historical context, this level allows us to reveal
the underlying “basic attitude of a nation, a period, a class, a religious, social
 status, education, etc. This level is, for Panofsky, the “ultimate goal of
iconology.”
- Walter Benjamin – in 1936
o The first significant contribution to the discussion regarding the change in how
we see images in the age of perfect reproductions, came with the 1936 essay
by German philosopher and cultural critic, Walter Benjamin titled:
o The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction Highlights:
o The way we look at art now is entirely different than ever before in history.
o Reproduction has an effect on the meaning & value of the original.
o The one-of-a-kind artwork used to have a particular aura, with a “sacred”
value derived from its uniqueness.
o Reproduction has caused the original artwork to lose that aura as derived from
its uniqueness.
o Its value now comes from being the original of many copies.
o This loss of aura opens us the politicization of art that used to be only
available to the elite. Reproduced art can be available to the masses and can be
used for political propaganda, so, although it devalues art (according to
Benjamin), it may be a good thing.
- JOHN BERGER (1926-2017)
o British art critic, novelist, painter and poet.
o Berger is most famous for his BBC Series titled: Ways of Seeing, 1972. The
four-part series was created in response to traditional practices of studying and
analyzing art that focused on the work of men and the European tradition
exclusively.
o John Berger, Ways of Seeing, episode 1, 1972
§ In this episode, Berger examines how photography or reproduction,
has impacted our appreciation of art from the past.
§ The first episode in the series draws on Walter Benjamin's The Work
of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction, and the idea that the
reproduction of art such as paintings separates the piece's modern
context from the context of which the piece was created. Berger
touches on the idea that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and this
makes the eye the center of the visible world. The invention of the
camera changed perception of the world- it changed not only what we
see but how we see it. He also talks a lot about how most original
paintings have been recreated, copied, and distributed across the globe.
This messes with the "value" of the painting. Berger also touches on
the fact that paintings can be easily manipulated- a few reasons why is
that there is no unfolding of time in paintings, just the one frame; a
painting's interpretation can be changed if it is accompanied by music
and rhythm; and the meaning of an image can be changed depending
on what you view after or beside it.
§ Because of the camera and the fact that any original piece of work can
be photographed, copied, and placed virtually anywhere in the world,
paintings have lost something. There is no longer the feeling of
impressiveness because you know it's the only one of its kind- yes,
there is the original still which holds the value, but since most valued
paintings have copies and remakes because of the camera, it loses
some of its sense of worth. Berger talks about the fact that in original
paintings, this loss of worth is often replaced by market value for being
an original painting acquired a new kind of impressiveness, but not
because of what it shows, not because of the meaning of its image. It's
 become mysterious again because of its market value. This market
value depends on it being genuine." (1) This shows that while the
invention of the camera and the ability to copy anything took its toll on
the value of a painting, something- money and market value of an
original- somewhat replaced this.
oncerned with subject matter or content - what is it of or what does it show.

Analysis of Haywain shows:

1. Not difficult - use common sense;

2. Needed n extraneous information - could describe from what is presented;
3. Relatively simple picture

So a structured approach will look at:

4. The kind of painting - genres of paintings are landscapes, portraits, still life, genre
painting (scene from everyday life)
5. Look at what is shown - is the subject of a portrait young, old, ethnicity,
6. Location
7. Age of painting
8. Season
9. Time of day - quality of light as well as brightness, shadows etc
10. Moment - battle scene for example

This approach:

11. Makes us look at a painting;

12. focusses attention on the visual evidence provided by the painting itself, the text
rather than the context
13. Provides a generic methodology;
14. Encourages us to look for ourselves

Interpretation beyond this though requires some knowledge of context. Important to know
bible to interpret religious art for example - known as attributes. Owl for wisdom is an every
day example.

Analysis then of Arnolifini's Wedding Portrait by Jan van Eyck. Here we get symbolism: e.g.
not wearing shoes suggests couple standing on 'holy ground'. Dog may be symbol of marital
fidelity (fido). Hand across the stomach indicates pregnancy or maybe potential for
childbirth.

Secondly look at The Annunciation by Master of Flemalle. The WYSIWYG approach

permits us to estimate time of day, location, period. Beyond that a knowledge of New
Testament helps us identify Mary, Joseph and Angel Gabriel. On left hand panel - looking in
through a trapdoor are the sponsor (Jan Engelbrecht) and his wife.

At a deeper level there is more symbolism - Jesus has made a wooden mousetrap - according
to St Augustine the cross was a mousetrap designed by God to catch the devil. The candle has
just been extinguished - does this mean that divine light has overcome need for artificial
light, or simply that angel's wings have extinguished it?
 These two paintings contain many deliberate symbols that may be interpreted only by an
audience that had sound grounding in Christian scripture, lore and symbolism (actually this is
perhaps an attempt to be elitist - the customer wants to show something off that indicates that
he understands it even if the average viewer does not - my interpretation).

Panofsky has written seminal work on iconology - Studies in Iconology - the branch of art
history concerned with the subject matter or meaning of works of art.

He sets out three levels:

1. primary or natural level - identifying only the very basic subject matter, no requirement
for cultural, conventional or art history knowledge;
2. secondary or conventional level - we can tell the difference between the Last Supper and
a meal out
3. Intrinsic meaning or content, that which reveals the underlying basic attitude of a nation,
a period, a class...(broadly the Zeitgeist). This is the ultimate goal of iconology - to unpick
the unintentional cultural attitudes and assumptions in a painting.

Using this, we can analyze the cover of Abbey Road.

At primary level, we have four men crossing a road, in relaxed manner.

At secondary level, we can see they are the Beatles, and identify each one. Then can move on
and ask why Paul has no shoes. Sicilian mourners wear no shoes. The VW beetle has a
number plate 28 IF. Is this symbolism. Is Paul dead? Is John (dressed in white) the priest.
Obviously all nonsense - Paul was alive - and shows risk of over interpretation - Paul's shoes
were is fact hurting him.

At intrinsic level, the casual cool look discloses the individuality, as does wearing different
clothes. Also, look at what is not on the cover: the band's name. There was no need because
they were so famous.
 Chapter 2 – Form:

- Roger Fry (1866-1934):

o Art Critic, advocate and popularizer of Modern Art, advocated the use of form
to convey emotion in art.
- FORM
o Is not about what is being shown, but rather how it is being shown.
- This 17th century “Vanitas” by Antonio de Pereda y Salgado was the Type of art
Roger Fry was an expert in.
- These were paintings of those referred to as “The Old Masters”
- It is academic, technique has priority, and is part of a tradition of symbolism. Every
little object means something.
- You needed quite an education to be able to decipher it.
- Fry believed that:
o “There had to be more to art than the simple imitation of reality.”
o “If imitation is the sole purpose of the graphic arts, it is surprising that the
works of such arts are ever looked upon as more than curiosities and ingenious
toys.”
- Fry stated that people have two kinds of life:
o Real, Everyday experiences
o Imaginative, “The most complete form of human nature.” Your mind is set
free
- The graphic arts are an expression of the imaginative life, rather than a copy of actual
life.
o “Art, is therefore, a medium through which a higher state can be attained.”

- Fry became convinced over a number of years after developing a love for post-
impressionist paintings, that there was more to art than the simple imitation of reality.
(I would add here that there simply has to be for photography ever to be considered
art). We had reached the point in painting where realism had no further to go (to a
degree, therefore, the theory of what we see in visual culture was following the trend
in art away from realism, there was a need to understand what Monet et al were all
about).
- 'If imitation is the sole purpose of the graphic arts, it is surprising that the works of
such arts are ever looked upon as more than curiosities or ingenious toys', he said.
- Fry said people have two types of life: actual and imaginative. A piece of art is to be
considered 'as an expression of emotions regarded as an end in themselves.'
- This was way too far for contemporary thought. His exhibition of Manet and Post-
Impressionists in London created scorn and anger. The problem was Fry's analysis
permitted, encouraged even, anyone, to understand art. It was no longer an elitist
occupation to understand the subject (the reactionary nature of the art establishment is
a recurrent theme) as even the maid had 'a certain sensibility' allowing her to
appreciate a Matisse.
- We can explain this by reference to the form of the piece of art. H&N then make an
analogy with music, pointing out that often (egg in Nessus Dorma) words are not an
integral part of our emotional reaction to the work, but rather the form of the tune, the
melody. I would summaries this simply by saying the whole is more than the sum of
the parts. In this way, painting might be viewed as 'music for the eyes'.
- Fry devised an order to his thoughts. We need order (to avoid confusion) and variety
(to avoid boredom). Artists arouse emotions by the 'emotional elements of design':
- • Rhythm of the line - the line is what delineates objects
- • Mass - way in which bulk is communicated
- • Space - way in which size is communicated, and proportion
- • Light and shade - alters feelings to subject
- • Color - direct emotional effect
- I can see here the roots of part of The Photographer's Eye and much of The Art of
Photography. Come back to the point that, in this analysis, photography can only be
about form, because reality is a given.
- H&N then use these guidelines to analyze Cezanne's Still Life with Milk Jug and
Fruit.
- Even more important, form is the only way to make sense of modern art such as that
of Pollock or Rothko, to understand, respectively, the anger and depression depicted
by their work. We must use form because there is no subject; Panofsky’s
iconographical scheme cannot work because he aligns subject matter and meaning, if
there is no subject there is no meaning, yet all artwork has SOME meaning.
- H&N conclude that the answer to form (Fry) vs content (Panofsky) depends on the
actual work of art under consideration. Panofsky's approach works for Renaissance
artists, Fry's for Post-Impressionism.
- Ultimately, the Formalists have helped us understand the nature of art itself. The
action works of Pollock and Rothko can be understood as well as the paintings of
Rembrandt if we realize they are all to a degree self-portrait. If we see something of
ourselves in them, the artist's work is done.
- Clive Bell (1881-1964)
o While everyone attacked Fry, he had his supporters like Clive Bell. Bell
however took things further. Much further. His extreme views were that all art
is reducible to pure form and emotion. In this way, artworks across time can
all be said to aim at the same thing: pure expression and color.
o ALL art is judged purely on aesthetics. Subject matter is of no importance.
- Let’s Compare
o ANOFSKY: “Visual texts” such as those deliberately filled with many
elements and symbols Are best analyzed using Panofsky’s methods. An
iconological approach. For Panofsky, subject matter and meaning were one
and the same thing. This theoretical tool is ideal for analyzing Renaissance art.
o FRY: His demotion of subject matter to a supporting role and promotion of
form above it was appropriate for early 20th century Paintings. You’d be
missing the point if you try to look for meaning and symbolism in a bowl of
fruit.
o BELL: His pure focus on the aesthetic was extreme for a Rembrandt, but it
was just right for a Rothko. We can all enjoy it the same way across time and
across cultures. In the visual arts, what arouses this emotion, this enjoyment, is
certain "forms and relations of forms" (including line and color), which Bell
called "significant form". Significant form need not have any reference from
real life.
 Chapter 3 – Art History:

- What do we mean by “traditional art historical approach?” For this, we will use as an
example, the work of
- ERNST GOMBRICH (1909-2001)
- And his book: The Story of Art (p.1950)
- Summary of the book:
o “STRANGE BEGININGS: Prehistoric and Primitive People, Ancient
America”
§ Lubing Jeriji Saléh cave on the Indonesian side of the Island of Borneo
52,000-40,000 Years
§ LASCAUX CAVES, France Approx. 17,000 years old
§ Moche culture art:
§ (100-700 AD) Pre-Columbian and Pre-Inca culture, From Peru.
o “ART FOR ETERNITY: Egypt, Mesopotamia & Crete”
§ “Some form of art exists everywhere on the globe, but the story of art
as a continuous effort does not begin in the caves of Southern France
or the North American Indians. There is no direct tradition which links
these strange beginnings with our own days...
§ But there is a direct tradition handed down from master to pupil, and
from pupil to admirer or copyist, which links the art of our own days
(..) with the art of the Nile Valley of some five thousand years ago.”
§ EGYPT: The preservation of the body was not enough, the likeness of
the king also had to be preserved. The Egyptian word for sculpture was
“He-who-keeps-alive”.
§ Everything had to be preserved as clearly and as permanently as
possible. Their method resembled that of a map-maker rather than a
painter.
§ Egyptians followed a rule which allowed them to include everything in
the human form that they considered important FROM ITS
CLEAREST ANGLE.
§ They used a grid form, which was copied and replicated for thousands
of years.
§ Ancient Egyptian style was quite rigid. Rules such as:
§ -Seated statues had to have their hands on their knees.
§ -Men have darker skin than women.
§ -The King always appears healthy, muscular and strong
§ Until…
§ Amarna Period of Akhenaten
• He changed the religion, challenged the priesthood and the
artistic conventions.
• However, after his death, Egyptian art returned to its old style
and kept using it to the very end.
o The Story of Art then quickly passes through Mesopotamian Art
§ Mesopotamian empires produced some of the earliest surviving art;
these civilizations were situated between the Tigris and the Euphrates
Rivers. Dating back to 3500 B.C.E., Mesopotamian art was intended to
serve as a way to glorify powerful rulers and their connection to
divinity.
§ The major civilizations that flourished during the Mesopotamian time
were the Sumerians (3500-2300 BC), Akkadians (2180-2340 BC),
 Babylonians (1792-1750 BC), Hitties (1600-1200 BC), Assyrains
(1000-612 BC) and the Persians (559-331 BC).
o “GREECE: THE GREAT AWAKENING”: Greece. Seventh to Fifth Century
B.C- 1st century AD
§ From Crete, we move on to Greece where we see a “great awakening
of architecture, sculpture & decorated pottery.”
§ Earlier Greek art imitated the Egyptian style. It was generally quite
rigid at first too.
§ Then, Greek artists began to explore: In painting, they discovered
foreshortening, and for the first time in all history, painted the foot
from the front.
§ Then a “revolution” began as Greek artists continued exploring how to
make the human body more realistic and give it more motion.
§ Alexander the Great (356-323 BC) took Greek art to the world through
his expansions. It becomes now more commonly known as Hellenistic
art rather than Greek.
§ Greek architectural elements such as the Corinthian column started
being used in the new cities and later continued to be applied to the
traditions of each country.
o ROME: And the Rise of Christianity
§ Greek traditions formed the basis of Roman art and architecture.
However, the most outstanding achievement of the Roman empire was
probably in civil engineering. They built great roads, aqueducts, roman
baths and most famously: The Colosseum.
§ The most important feature of Roman architecture: the arches
§ “Painting can do for the illiterate, what
§ writing does for those who can read.” Pope Gregory the Great (6th
century)
o The Dark Ages (500-1000 AD)
§ Following the Collapse of the Western Roman Empire, Europe fell into
a period of wars and upheavals.
§ But the art of the “barbarians” (master craftsmen) mixed with the
artistic heritage of the Roman empire, produced a new, highly ornate
art.
§ This was also the age of building great cathedrals and developing
church architecture
§ Gothic architecture then flourished in Europe during the High and Late
Middle Ages. It evolved from Romanesque. Originating in 12th-
century France, it was widely used, especially for cathedrals and
churches, until the 16th century.
§ Out of these 500 years which saw a decline of the ancient world,
emerged Europe, roughly in the shape we know it today.

o Gothic/Late Medieval – Proto-Renaissance

§ Giotto di Bondone (1267-1337) Celebrity Artist: A contemporary of
Giotto wrote that he was "the most sovereign master of painting in his
time, who drew all his figures and their postures according to nature"
and wrote of his publicly recognized "talent and excellence”
§ The period following the Dark ages was called the
o RENAISSANCE
§ the period of the 'conquest of reality' and the development of oil
painting (accredited by Gombrich to van Eyck);
 § The Renaissance was the revival of European art and literature under
the influence of classical models (of Rome & Greece) in the 14th–16th
centuries.
§ The Early Renaissance was informed by Humanism (philosophical and
ethical stance that emphasizes the value and agency of human beings
over the acceptance of dogma or superstition.) This spawned some of
the most creative revolutions in the arts.
§ This period was led by Brunelleschi whose works in architecture and
the discovery of linear perspective informed the era, as well as the
pioneering work of Donatello in sculpture and Masaccio in painting.
§ Together, the three have been dubbed "the triumvirate of the Early
Renaissance," centered in the Republic of Florence, and the patronage
of wealthy families like the Medici’s.
§ Filipo Brunelleschi - Architect, engineer, sculptor, mathematician &
designer
§ “Father of linear perspective”- in which the relative size, shape, and
position of objects are determined by drawn or imagined lines
converging at a point on the horizon.
o EARLY RENAISSANCE
§ 1401- 1490s
§ The Republic of Florence, dubbed itself "The New Athens," indicating
that the city-state identified itself as heir to the classical tradition.
- JAN VAN EYCK, “THE INVENTOR OF OIL PAINTING”
o Painters at that time did not buy ready-made colors. They had to prepare their
own pigments, mostly from colored plants and minerals.
o They ground them to a powder between two stones & added liquid to bind the
powder into a paste.
o All through the Middle Ages, the main ingredient of the liquid had been made
of an egg: this is the Tempera method.
o Jan van Eyck was dissatisfied with the formula, because it dried too fast & did
not allow him to achieve smooth transitions by letting the colors shade off into
each other.
- NORTHERN RENAISSANCE
o (1430 -1580s)
o North of the European Alps an artistic, literary, and philosophical movement
grew that was influenced by the spread of the Italian Renaissance's art and
ideas.
- HIGH RENAISSANCE
o (1490s -Ended: 1527)
o The High Renaissance, the epitome of Italian art before the modern era was
the exemplified in the works of Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, and
Raphael – among others.
- Perspective is an art technique for creating an illusion of three- dimensions (depth and
space) on a two-dimensional (flat) surface. Perspective is what makes a painting seem
to have form, distance, and look "real".
- MANNERISM
o (1520-1620s)
o Mannerism highly imaginative period in art following the climax of perfection
that naturalistic painting had reached in Renaissance Italy. It is an artistic style
which developed in the late Renaissance which exaggerated emphasis on
proportion, balance, and ideal beauty and a more intellectual approach.
- BAROQUE
o (1584-1723)
o Baroque art and architecture emerged in late sixteenth-century Europe after
the Renaissance and lasted into the eighteenth century. In contrast to the
clarity and order of earlier art, it stressed theatrical atmosphere, dynamic
flourishes, and myriad colors and textures.
- ROCOCO
o (1702- 1780s)
o Rococo was a far-reaching artistic movement associated with ornate
decoration that included architecture, painting, sculpture, music, interior
design, landscapes, and theater.
- DUTCH GOLDEN AGE
o (1600-1672)
o The Dutch Baroque style of art is more commonly referred to as the Dutch
Golden Age. It was one of the more prolific eras for painters in Western art
history and included the artists Vermeer, Frans Hals, and Rembrandt.
- NEOCLASSICISM
o (1750-1850)
o Looking back to the arts of Greece and Rome for ideal models and forms,
Neoclassicism was a major art period that set standard and redefined painting,
sculpture, and architecture.
- ROMANTICISM
o THE EMERGENCE OF A PERSONAL STYLE: William Blake, The Ancient
of Days from Europe a Prophecy copy B (1794)
o (c.1780-1830)
o Romanticism was a nineteenth-century movement that celebrated the powers
of emotion and intuition over rational analysis or classical ideals. Romantic
artists emphasized awe, beauty, and the sublime in their works, which
frequently charted the darker or chaotic sides of human life.
- IMPRESSIONISM
o (1872-1892)
o Impressionism emerged in the mid-nineteenth century in opposition to the
finished style of academic painting. It often depicted scenes of daily life and
used painterly strokes and shifting color areas to capture the effects of light
and atmosphere.
-
- 17th/18th century development of more personal art (landscapes of Blake, for
example);
o During nineteenth century, Gombrich sees artists viewing themselves as 'a
race apart', with the consequences of more individuality and opening new
possibilities for art;
§ This evolved into Impressionist movement - Manet and Monet and the
post Impressionists led by Cezanne;
§ First half of twentieth century is 'experimental', away from traditional
art to Cubism, and the work of Picasso;
- POST IMPRESSIONISM
o Started: Early 1880s
o Ended: 1914
o Post-Impressionism (a term coined by Roger Fry) refers to a host of artists and
styles that emerged after Impressionism in the late 19th century. Although
diverse in style, they tend to share an emphasis on intense colors, expressive
forms, and painterly brushstrokes.
- EXPRESSIONISM
o (1905-1933)
o Expressionism is a broad term for a host of movements in early twentieth-
century Germany. Many German Expressionists used vivid colors and
abstracted forms to create spiritually or psychologically intense works, while
others focused on depictions of war, alienation, and the modern city.
- TRADITIONAL ART HISTORICAL APPROACH
o Downplays the environment that created this artist, placing the artist alone at
the center stage and blurring everything around them. He thus places the artist
over the art.
o - The history of art is a narrative that imposes order. Why? . our psychological
need (and school training) to create an illusion of order.
o - Obsession with authorship over the art itself: John Berger for e.g. showed us
the Rembrandt that lost its value overnight. Is it about the painting or the
painter then?
o - It is a history of men (women have been active, contrary to our beliefs, only,
always overlooked)
o - Eurocentric - written by Europeans largely for Europeans - and therefore
offer primacy to European art over say Chinese or Islamic art.
o - Traditional art histories are almost always very SIMILAR. They feature the
same “landmark” works, same men. Knowing this set of works and names
makes you “cultured”, but on what basis were these ‘canonical’ works
designated as canonical?
o - Overly glorifies and romanticizes the artist. Many were just making a living.
o - Not all intent comes across deliberately from the artist. The “master’s aims”
are only part of the picture. Sometimes things seep through unconsciously.
(think of Panofsky’s intrinsic level of analysis)
o - Largely tied to the commercial art market. Again, going back with the
obsession with attribution. Imagine if you pay 1,000,000 USD for a painting,
to then have it distributed the next morning
 Chapter 4 – Ideology:
- Through ICONOLOGY
o ERWIN PANOFSKY focused on the elements and symbols of “visual texts”
and analyzed them through his three-level approach. His approach is about is
about decoding/interpreting the content in an image
- Through FORM
o ROGER FRY: demoted subject matter to a supporting role, and promoted
form (color, texture, light/shade, etc.), giving it more importance especially
when looking at post-impressionist art, which he championed. CLIVE BELL:
Placed *all* importance and focus on form.
- Through ART HISTORY
o ERWIN GOMRICH aimed to bring “intelligible order” to help the new reader
of art and starts his book by saying “there is no art, only artists” thus looking
at art primarily as a neat historical timeline, concentrated in the West and
focusing on the artist at the center stage.
- Through IDEOLOGY:
o JOHN BERGER invites the public to look at previously familiar art again,
with a fresh critical eye that scrutinizes it ideologically. He reveals how oil
paintings were made (deliberately or not) to show wealth, male dominance,
colonial victory, or simply, a singular point of view.
- IDEOLOGY
o “The study of ideas, systems of thoughts and systems of belief.”
- JOHN BERGER
o “The art of the past is being mystified because a privileged minority is striving
to invent a history which can retrospectively justify the role of the ruling
classes, such a justification can no longer make sense in the modern world.”
o We are being prevented from seeing through art and making our own
conclusions because art historians “explain away” the ideological undertones
with iconological, formative and art historical analyses.
o An ideological approach to analysis (generally) involves a critical
investigation of power relations within society.
- PETER FULLER VS JOHN BERGER
o They started off as friends, then Fuller started “chipping away at Berger’s
arguments:
o - Berger left an “art-shaped hole” in our understanding of art, where all
notions of beauty seem to disappear.
o - The aesthetic experience is what really matters in art.
o - Equated Berger’s views with the philistine politics of Margaret Thatcher’s
conservative party.
o - Saw that “the greater the work of art, the less it was reducible to the
o ideology of its own time.”
o - First wrote “Seeing Berger”, then “Seeing through Berger”
o At first, Berger agreed that his book was deliberately polemical
o - Agreed that he overstated his case, as a common tactic to provoke
discussion.
o - Then Fuller wrote an article saying that Berger “had been ethically and
Intellectually dishonest in his treatment of Kenneth Clark”
o - Berger’s views on the redundancy of museums encouraged Thatcher’s
government to decrease funding.
o Berger was “unwittingly guilty” of an approach in which images have no
existence apart from an ideological existence.
- Berger also ignites a discussion that is more of the spirit of the late 20th and 21st
centuries: A feminist critique of oil paintings.
o BERGER:
o - Women are born “into the keeping of men”
o - “Men act, women appear”
o - Paintings depict nude woman, enjoying being observed and even observing
themselves
o with vanity. A man decided to paint her as “available” and vain, over and
above.
o He differentiates between
o NAKED is to be oneself
o NUDE to be seen naked by others, and not recognized for oneself. To be seen
as an object. The subject of This genre is overwhelmingly female.
- WOMEN PAINTING THEMSELVES
o Marguerite Gerard, French, Fragonard's sister-in-law, was trained as an
engraver, but turned to painting and did such ambitious work as Portrait of the
Artist Painting a Musician, 1803. Hermitage, Leningrad.
o The Swiss-born Angelica Kauffmann, most of whose prolific career was spent
in Italy, combines allegory with portraiture in Angelica Hesitating between
Music and Painting, ca. 1765. Collection of R.D.G. Winn, London.
- EDWARD SAID & ORIENTALISM
o Orientalism is a 1978 book by Edward W. Said, in which he discusses
Orientalism, defined as the West's patronizing representations of "The East"
o Orientalism” is a way of seeing that imagines, emphasizes, exaggerates and
distorts differences of Arab peoples and cultures as compared to that of
Europe and the U.S. It often involves seeing Arab culture as exotic, overly-
relaxed, backward, uncivilized, and at times dangerous.
- Berger’s Episodes.
o Berger points out that 'seeing comes before words.' It establishes our own
place in the world. 'Images are more precise and richer than literature.'
However, Berger believes that our ability to see art has been compromised by
assumptions about art, assumptions that deliberately mystify in order that a
privileged minority is trying to invent a history that retrospectively justifies
the role of the ruling classes. Experts have explained away the political
evidence of the paintings, neglecting a 'total' approach that would relate the
paintings to people's everyday lives.
o Berger continues by pointing out that most people associate museums with
churches. He would prefer pin boards in rooms where images of pictures
would be stuck.
o Oil painting has a special relationship with property says Berger - not merely
because they are property but also because they show property. Thus,
paintings become propaganda.
o H&N continue with Berger's critique of the Ambassadors by Holbein. Berger
admits there is great technical skill in the painting but claims the 'stuff' that
'demonstrates the desirability of what money could buy' that dominates the
painting, highlighting scientific instruments and a globe, for example.
o The disclosing of a particular time on a clock, the broken string of a lute may
point to the transience of the scene; that all the wordily goods might disappear
as easily as they materialize. There is a skull as well: a recurring motif
meaning memento more, remember you have to die. Thus, it could
equally be said that Holbein has added a sense of folly.
 o There is further dichotomy over Berger's interpretation of Frans Hals' Old
Men's Alms House. Hals was penniless and earned three loads of peat for
painting group portraits. Some (notably Slive) praise the works and say there
is no evidence that the paintings were done by Hals in a negative way. Berger
disagrees, saying that Hals would obviously have been bitter about his relative
position and economic disadvantage.
o The chapter then continues with the developing argument between Fuller and
Berger over the last two decades of twentieth century. Fuller originally
countenanced Berger's theory but gradually distanced himself, ultimately
becoming quite hostile to Berger.
o H&N analyze the differences between Berger and Fuller, and conclude much
as I have done above, that there are several plausible motives that Hals might
have had when painting the portraits.
o Marxian theories are outdated now, but we should credit Berger with at least
advocation a new 'way of seeing' that remains relevant, and perhaps rightly
shook the cozy world of art commentary.
o H&N then move on to look at gender, specifically noting how the vast
majority of nude painting is by men of women, not dissimilar, one might add,
of contemporary pornography. Indeed, some painting is very much of the top
shelf variety. H&N further discuss an essay by Laura Mulvey in which she
argues that women are very much portrayed as objects of male fantasies in the
cinema.
o Again, one has to say that this is all pretty obvious. Men were trained to be
painters in patriarchal European society, so it is hardly surprising there are no
female painters, and perhaps equally unsurprising that female sex organs are
more commonly portrayed than male, though this is surely not true of Greek
sculpture, which seemed to major on the male organ. Perhaps the polemical
approach to sexism in art is unjustified; it simply reflected the Zeitgeist of the
period.
- SUMMARY:
o In part 2, Berger discusses the concept of the female nude. He begins by
making the distinction between “naked” and “nude” as such: “To be naked, is
to be one's self. To be nude is to be seen naked by others and yet not
recognized for one's self.” This distinction is used to help make the argument
that in order for a naked body to become a nude, it must be completely
objectified and exist only for the sexual pleasure of the owner or viewer. This
claim is supported by a number of example paintings all of which containing
characteristics of an object intended only for the viewer. Characteristics such
as the lack of hair which according to Berger removes an association with
sexual pleasure on the woman's part, the fact that the woman's gaze is almost
always directed outward at the viewer even when a male figure is present, and
the fact that the women in these paintings are almost always laying down,
languid as “They are there to feed an appetite, not have any of their own.”
o Berger discusses a contradiction in European paintings of female nudes
between “the painter's, owner's and viewer's individualism and... the object,
the woman, which is treated as abstraction.” He believes that these differences
within the relationship between men and women play a deep role in our
culture and how women view themselves. He opens and closes this episode
with a discussion focused around how women see themselves. At a round
table discussion at the end of this episode one woman discusses how, though
she never thought about it until now, she doesn't see herself as she is, naked,
when looking in the mirror, but instead sees a nude. What she means by this is
 that she is so influenced by the world around her, whether it be through
advertising, opinions of others, or some cultural aspect influenced by the
European paintings in discussion, that she doesn't see her true self but instead
an image of what she wants to be or things she should be. It is also mentioned
that men don't have this same image of themselves or constant reflection of
themselves. This enforces Berger's belief that this inequality between men and
women exists heavily in our society.
o This is a video by John Berger about the true meaning of European oil
paintings and what traditions they have. He argues that oil paintings exist
mainly to depict the owner's wealth. If the image is of yourself, then the point
is to depict all of your possessions with you in the middle of them. The subject
of the art isn't necessarily art, but instead the wealth and purchasing power, the
fact that it's merchandise. This is the main argument made by Berger about oil
paintings.
o In life, we have real and tangible objects. When these objects are depicted in
art, however, they are no longer real. We are looking at images of the things
that may exist somewhere, but they aren't tangible in this painting. This is
similar to the icon discussion in McCloud's "The Vocabulary of Comics". As
Berger points out, it's ironic that we then protect these paintings and guard
them for fear of someone stealing the image of the desired objects depicted in
the painting. Seems pretty silly. But this is just perpetuation of the tradition of
oil paintings. Near the end of the video, Berger describes Rembrandt's self-
portraits. The young portrait embodies all of the principles of displaying
incredible wealth and possessions. The portrait of him later in life, though, is
barren of these possessions to comment on the oil painting style. Yet, even
though Berger claims Rembrandt is making commentary against oil painting
tradition, the painting still adheres to it! The painting would be valued
somewhere around 3 billion pounds. The ultimate possession.
o Why did this idea come about with oil paintings specifically? John Berger
doesn't give too much detail about why oil paintings brought this about.
Mostly, he describes that oil paintings allowed artists to be a lot more detailed
in their work, so the immense amount of possessions could be carefully
painting with this great detail.
o Ultimately, though, we must remember what the main purpose of oil painting
is. John Berger doesn't want us to fall into the trap of museums and art experts
that all these old oil paintings are exquisite and beautiful art. As Berger
details, "we should not confuse such exceptional works with the purpose and
significance of the general tradition" of oil painting. This is because "oil
painting was, before everything else, a medium which celebrated private
possessions." We should remember this fact and temper our opinions of these
oil paintings accordingly.
 Chapter 5 – Semiotics:

- The study of signs & sign-using behavior.

- Ferdinand de Saussure (1857-1913), Swiss linguist and semiotician:
- -Language is a system of signs and signals which enables people to communicate with
each other.
- -A sign is made of two parts, the SIGNIFIER and the SIGNIFIED

- ROLAND BARTHES (1915-1950) extended semiotics to the analysis of visual and

popular culture.
- He believed that EVERYTHING COULD BE A SIGN.
- He used semiotics to reveal the underlying ideological assumptions of the society in
which it was created.
- Things do not mean anything in themselves but are invested with meaning by cultures

and societies
- SIGNIFIERS: some packets of pasta, a tin, a sachet, some tomatoes, onions, peppers,
a mushroom, all falling out of a half-open string bag, in yellows and greens on a red
background.
- Let us try to 'skim off' the different messages it contains SIGNIFIEDS:
- -linguistic; French language (caption & labels).
- -The sign Panzani: 'Italianicity'. The linguistic message is therefore twofold:
denotational and connotational.
- -A return from the market (implies freshness & domestic preparation). Its signifier is
the half-open bag with ‘unpacked’ products falling out.
- -The bringing together of the tomato, the pepper and the tricolored hues (yellow,
green, red) of the poster; its signified is Italy, or rather Italianicity.
- -The collection of different objects transmits the idea of a total culinary service,
everything you need for a balanced dish.
- -The image, evokes the memory of innumerable alimentary paintings, sends us to an
aesthetic signified: the 'nature morte' or, as it is better expressed in other languages,
the 'still life'; the knowledge on which this sign depends is heavily cultural.
- THE SIGN AS A MYTH
- ROLAND BARTHES: a myth is to present an ideology or set of values as if it were a
natural condition of the world, when in fact it’s no more than another man-made
perspective. A myth doesn’t describe a natural state but expresses the intentions of its
teller. (e.g. Che Guevara iconography)
- Myth is about what an image connotates (taking it further)
- Denote refers to the literal, primary meaning of something; connote refers to other
characteristics suggested or implied by that thing. Thus, one might say that the word
“mother” denotes “a woman who is a parent” but connotes qualities such as
“protection” and “affection.”
- SUMMARY:
o Semiotics originated with the Swiss linguist de Saussure, who devised the
'lexicon of signification', a group of terms comprising the 'signifier' (that
which stands for something else), the 'signified' (the idea it stands for) and the
'sign' (the union of the two).
o The key is that nothing naturally means anything and therefore meaning must
be cultural. There is nothing God given that DOG means a four-footed
domestic animal, for example. Sign is arbitrary, else there would be only one
language.
o (A good example would be secret code - the sign is to be secret in order that
only certain people can know what the signifier stands for).
o Car names provide examples of names that signify different things in different
cultures. No Va means "doesn't go" in Spanish. Mitsubishi brought out the
Pajero in 1980s - means wanker in Spain, where care is sold ad Montero.
o In visual world, can see that tie is a classic signifier, suggests we are serious
and professional, creates an impression that we treat the occasion with respect.
o signs are arbitrary - witness that there is just one stroke difference from
Mercedes Benz badge to CND logo.
o Signs can change too. Eiffel Tower nowadays is quintessentially Paris, but it
was an eyesore in early days.
o Barthes extended Saussure's work from words to visual and popular culture,
and to a study of 'myths'. i.e. the concept of a chain of signifier, signified etc.
E.g. DOG is signifier, domestic animal is signifier, but dogs signify fidelity.
So, myth is 'sum of signs'. it is something standing for something else, the
intention is more important than the form (he uses the example of a black
soldier saluting the French flag on the cover of Paris Match). Of course,
Renaissance painters included many symbols in their work.
o Importance here is that journalist or other maker of myths frequently finds a
form to fit a preexisting concept - e.g. finding starving people on a mission in
a famine area. Photographers find images to fit idea of 'quaint village'.
o Barthes' 'impoverished signifier' also makes sense - a scantily clad girl is
designed to suggest sex appeal and in doing so loses her individuality. (Sport
is interesting in this respect. too - consider role of team colors, why Leeds
chose white).
o Barthes is mainly concerned to show how myth represents the interests of the
bourgeois, it misrepresents history as nature (i.e. this is how things are
naturally, rather than resulting from historical forces). Similar to Berger's
ideas. Myth to Barthes is all about 'it goes without saying'. whereas actually
nothing goes without saying.
o Barthes discusses wrestling, an activity where things are not what they seem.
The passion is false but the concepts of goodie against baddie are not.
o Barthes is infatuated with idea that bourgeois values (extended to middle class
values of smug, reactionary unthinkingness).
o Problem with Barthes is that he is selective in his approach - some brilliant
insights rather than sustained analysis - and he sees exactly what he wants to
see (like Berger).
o Semiotics can be seen a lot in advertising. Howells and Negreiros use the
example of Renault 19 ad campaign with the priest.