A fascinating aspect of art history is the way artists imbued their canvasses with symbols. To the modern art goer, the symbols often appear unrelated to the theme depicted, but, with the study of the iconography, it becomes evident they are essential elements for a full appreciation of the art work. At the time this art was created, the symbols - the iconography - would have been universally recognized and comprehensible, but in time, their meanings became obscure, arcane. The goal of Iconography: An Irreverent Introduction is to make sense of what are now unclear, even indecipherable symbols in celebrated paintings and sculptures, and enable contemporary art lovers to completely understand all facets of these masterworks. To ensure that objective, the authors have in depth explanations of symbols that are found in a number of great art works throughout Europe, and have provided informative tables and footnotes as well as illustrations of the paintings and sculptures discussed. The book begins with religious art that produced a vast number of paintings from the 10th through the 17th centuries. It continues with an examination of Renaissance art that experienced a shift in artists' interest and resulted in monumental mythological paintings. Myths, classical allegory and mythological sagas are examined as a guide to understanding who was who on Mount Olympus and in tales told by great authors whose works continue to be venerated. Dutch paintings of The Golden Age, rich in iconography are scrutinized: crowd pleasing domestic social scenes, still lifes, portraits and landscapes. They reflected the mores and preoccupations of 17th century Netherlands and illustrate how emblems and symbols changed with the subject matter. The authors consider illustrious works that defy traditional categorization and range from the mystical, social-political, war-political to the psychological. The iconography of Death explores a topic that was painted for millennia and only lost favor with the advent of impressionistic and abstract art that began in the 19th century. Iconography: An Irreverent Introduction is a vademecum for any museum visit.
Angel Rafael Colón is professor emeritus and adjunct professor to the Dean at Georgetown University in Washington, DC, where he lectures on the history and philosophy of western medicine, the history of childhood, art iconography and clinical medicine. He holds graduate degrees in science, medicine and art history and is boarded in medicine, pediatrics, gastroenterology and nutrition. A member of the Medieval Society and the American Association for the History of Medicine he has over 175 publications and in addition, together with Patricia Ann Colón, ten books, among them Nurturing Children: A History of Pediatrics (Westport: Green-wood, 1999), A History of Children: A Socio-Cultural Survey Across Millennia (Westport: Greenwood, 2001) and Tincture of Time: A Concise History of Medicine (Charleston: Amazon.com. Third edition 2015).
Patricia Ann Colón is a free-lance writer with a graduate degree in English literature. She has served as a member of the Board of Directors of several health foundations and schools and on health related university committees. As cited above, she has co-authored four books with ARC, published articles on health and society She has visited virtually every major and regional art museum worldwide to study their collections. She is currently finishing a novel, with a second on a back burner.
