panofsky ath701 1.docx (3).ppt
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ERWIN PANOFSKY
Born: March 30, 1892 (Hanover
Died: March 14, 1968 (aged 75) Princeton, New Jersey
Occupation: Art historian
Known for: The definition of modern
iconography and iconology
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• Three Strata of Subject Matter or
Meaning
In Studies in Iconology Panofsky details his idea
of three levels of art-historical understanding
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OBJECT OF
INTERPRETATION
ACT OF INTERPRETATION EQUIPMENT FOR
INTERPRETATION
Primary or NaturalSubject Matter
The most basic level of
understanding, this stratumconsists of perception of the
work’s pure form. Take, for
example, a painting of The
Last Supper. If we stopped
at this first stratum, such a
picture could only beperceived as a painting of 13
men seated at a table. This
first level is the most basic
understanding of a work,
devoid of any added culturalknowledge.
The first level is a
description of the factual (orexpressional), termed the
"pre-iconographic
description," in which
uninterrupted subjects are
enumerated. This level does
not require any in-depthknowledge of either the work
or its context, apart from the
ability to recognize what is
represented.
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Secondary orConventionalsubject matter(Iconography)
This stratum goes a step furtherand brings to the equationcultural and iconographic
knowledge. For example, a
Western viewer would
understand that the painting of
13 men around a table would
represent The Last Supper.Similarly, a representation of a
haloed man with a lion could be
interpreted as a depiction of St.Mark.
·
The secondary level, iconographicalanalysis, involves an understandingof the subject matter. It "constitutes
the world of images, stories and
allegories" (Panofsky 1939, p. 14)
and requires an analysis of the pre
iconographic material, which can be
derived only from a familiarity withand knowledge of the themes and
concepts represented. The
recognition of such themes can be
based on external sources (such as
textual material) and may be
extensive, but it is usually acquiredfrom familiarization with thematerial.
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Tertiary orIntrinsic
Meaning orContent
(Iconology)
This level takes into account
personal, technical, and
cultural history into the
understanding of a work. Itlooks at art not as an isolated
incident, but as the product ofa historical environment.
Working in this stratum, the art
historian can ask questions like
“why did the artist choose to
represent The Last Supper inthis way?” or “Why was St.Mark such an important saint
to the patron of this work?”
Essentially, this last stratum is
a synthesis; it is the art
historian asking "what does it
all mean?"
The third or iconographical
level is the most complicated
of the three and involves
an understanding of theintrinsic meaning or content,
constituting the world of"symbolical values." This
level requires "a familiarity
with the essential tendencies
of the human mind" and
attempts to place the deepermeaning of the work (if itexists) within the realm of the
conscious. Such deeper
meanings cannot be
immediately recognized.
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• Primary or Natural Subject Matter: The most basic
level of understanding, this strata consists of
perception of the work’s pure form. Take, for example,
a painting of The Last Supper . If we stopped at this
first strata, such a picture could only be perceived asa painting of 13 men seated at a table. This first level
is the most basic understanding of a work, devoid of
any added cultural knowledge.
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• Secondary or Conventional subject matter
(Iconography): This strata goes a step further and
brings to the equation cultural and iconographic
knowledge. For example, a western viewer would
understand that the painting of 13 men around a
table would represent The Last Supper . Similarly,
seeing a representation of a haloed man with a
lion could be interpreted as a depiction of St.
Jerome.
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• Intrinsic Meaning or Content (Iconology): This level
takes into account personal, technical, and cultural
history into the understanding of a work. It looks at
art not as an isolated incident, but as the product
of a historical environment. Working in this strata,
the art historian can ask questions like “why didthe artist choose to represent The Last Supper in
this way?” or “Why was St. Jerome such an
important saint to the patron of this work?”
Essentially, this last strata is a synthesis; it's theart historian asking "what does it all mean?"
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