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Iconography

Code: 100541
Credits: 6
2026/2027
Degree programme Type Course
Art History FB 1

Contact lecturer

Name :
Manuel Antonio Castiñeiras Gonzalez
Email :
manuel.castineiras@uab.cat

Group languages

You can consult this information at the end of the document.

Prerequisites

It would be desirable to have some knowledge in foreign languages (Reading Comprehension) (in particular, English and French) in order to consult the specialized literature.

Objectives

Context:

The subject, of basic training, is included in the general subject "Art" (30 ECTS credits).


This is an introduction to the role and function of the image in the history of art, with a methodological part, and a part which is devoted to historical-artistic analysis.

The methodological part will consist of the study of the different approaches to the world of the image and its meaning in all types of media (iconography, iconology, semiotics, structuralism, narratology), as well as the most current revisions that have led to the renewal of iconographic studies (gender perspective, transcultural studies, postcolonialism, Agency, the Five-senses theory). The more historical-artistic part will analize the most important iconographic repertoires of the history of art (Greco-Roman mythology and Christian iconography), as well as other topics of interest.


The contents of this subject are focused on two principal points:

I. To recognise the importance that the Iconography has as an instrumental discipline of Art History, and also show other alternative paths for the study of the image.

II. To understand that Iconography becomes the complementary tool in order to assimilate the expressional schemes and the meaning of the works of art studied in the other subjects.

Goals:

- To train the student in order to recognise the most usual iconographic cicles in Art.

- To enable to apply the theoretical contents of this subject to the analysis of the image.

- To identify and recognise the most important historiographic schools and the trends in Iconography.

- To know the specific bibliographic resources of the discipline.

- To have a good command of the most important iconographic repertoires.

- To promote the appreciation of diversity, intercultural dialogue and the role of images as a means of transmission of ideas, feelings and messages.

- To stand out the function of images in different cultures.

- To have a good command of the adequate historic-artistic vocabulary.

Learning outcomes

  1. Applying the iconographic knowledge to the reading of artistic imagery.
  2. Analysing ideas about an artistic phenomenon in a given cultural context.
  3. Analysing the creators of an artistic phenomenon in a specific cultural context.
  4. Analysing the recipients of an artistic phenomenon in a specific cultural context.
  5. Working in teams, respecting the other's points of view and designing collaboration strategies.
  6. Analysing classical and current debates of the History of Art.
  7. Summarising acquired knowledge about the origin and transformations experienced by the general Theory of Art and the various fields of study of the discipline.
  8. Recognising the methodological, iconographic and Art Theory-related knowledge in order to read an artistic imagery.
  9. Using the knowledge of general Art Theory in the criticism of the artistic imagery.
  10. Analysing ideas about an artistic phenomenon, and its creators and recipients in a given cultural context.
  11. Differentiating artistic theories about an artistic phenomenon, its creators and recipients in a given cultural context.
  12. Applying the knowledge about aesthetic ideas and Art Theory to the analysis of the artistic imagery.
  13. Demonstrating the knowledge of scientific methodology, sources and Art Theory in the reading, criticism and formal, iconographic and symbolic interpretation of any artistic or cinematographic imagery.

Contents

1) Introduction. Questions of method and general concepts. From iconography to semiotics: from textuality to the significant form. Issues of fruition.

2) New approaches to the world of the image: gender perspective, transcultural studies, post-colonialism, Agency, Five-Sense Theory.

3) Greco-Roman mythology and its survival as a repertoire. Divinities and heroes.

4) The Christian image: from East to West. Old and New Testament. Hagiographic topics.

5) Iconography of subversion: poverty, protest, iconoclasm, resistance.

6) The power of the image. A global vision. Non-Western iconographies and contemporary iconographies.

Learning activities and methodology

Title Hours ECTS Learning outcomes
Theoretical and practical sessions in the classroom 45 1.8 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12
study 80 3.2 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8
Readings 12 0.48 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 13
Methodological and bibliographic orientation 5 0.2 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

Theoretical and practical sessions.

Eventual conferences.

Methodological and bibliographic orientation.

Supervised activities.

Note: \"15 minutes of a class will be reserved, within the timetable established by the centre/title, for the complementation by the students of the assessment surveys of the teaching staff's performance and the assessment of the subject\".

Annotation: within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.

Assessment

Continuous assessment activities

Title Weight Hours ECTS Learning outcomes
Activity 2 40% 1.5 0.06 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13
Activity 1 40% 1.5 0.06 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12
Acvtivity 3 20% 5 0.2 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11

Continuous Assessment:

  • Activity 1:

Exam 1 (4.0 marks, 40 % of the final grade).

  • Activity 2:

Exam 2 (4.0 marks, 40 % of the final grade).

  • Activity 3:

Essay or activity based on a reflection/or a preparation of a debate at the classroom on a specific topic (2 points, 20 % of the final grade).


  1. The final grade is the result of the sum of the grades obtained in the three aforementioned tests. Students must obtain at least 3.5 out of 10 in each of the activities to pass the course. If the student has only done some of the compulsory exercises (activities 1, 2 or 3) and he/she has passed them, he/she will get a \"not assessable\" when the general addition does not reach the pass or a superior mark. On the contrary, the student will get the mark that he/she has obtained.
  2. On carrying out each evaluation activity, lecturers will inform students (on Moodle) of the procedures to be followed for reviewing all grades awarded, and the date on which such a review will take place.
  3. Only the students who have not passed and have sat for the three compulsory activities (1, 2 and 3) have the right to a reassessment - the date is set by the Faculty's Academic Management. The maximum mark of this reassessment is 5.


Unique assessment:

The exam-based assessment consists of 2 tests:

  • Individual project: 40% of the final grade.
  • Written test: 60% of the final grade.


Single assessment re-sit process:

  1. Students must have enrolled all the scheduled unique assessment activities to be able to have a second chance. The make-up process is only for students who have obtained an average grade of 3.5.
  2. If the tests cannot be taken in person, their format will be adapted (maintaining their weighting) to the possibilities offered by the UAB's virtual tools. Homework, activities and class participation will be done through forums, wikis and/or exercise discussions through Teams, etc. The teacher will ensure that the student can access it or will offer him or her alternative means that are within their reach.


Plagiarism:

In the event of a student committing any irregularity that may lead to a significant variation in the grade awarded to an assessment activity, the student will be given a zero for this activity, regardless of any disciplinary process that may take place. In the event of several irregularities in assessment activities of the same subject, the student will be given a zero as the final grade for this subject.

In the event that tests or exams cannot be taken onsite, they will be adapted to an online format made available through the UAB’s virtual tools (original weighting will be maintained). Homework, activities and class participation will be carried out through forums, wikis and/or discussion on Teams, etc.Lecturers will ensure that students are able to access these virtual tools, or will offer them feasible alternatives.

Use of AI

This subject entirely prohibits the use of AI technologies in all of its activities. Any submitted

work that contains content generated using AI will be considered academic dishonesty; the

corresponding grade will be awarded a zero, without the possibility of reassessment. In cases

of greater infringement, more serious action may be taken.



Bibliography

Primary sources:

ARNAU, Juan (ed.), Upanisad. Correspondencias ocultas, Alianza, Madrid, 2021.

ARNAU, Juan (ed.), Bhagavadgita, Alianza, Madrid, 2020.

ASSOCIACIÓ BÍBLICA DE CATALUNYA, La Bíblia, Barcelona, Claret, 1997.

CALVO MARTÍNEZ, José Luis (ed.), Los cuatro evangelios, Trotta, Madrid, 2022.

CREPON (ed.), Los evangelios apócrifos. Crónica del Nuevo Testamento. Edaf, Madrid, 2019.

HESÍODE, Teogonia, La Magrana, Barcelona, 1999.

HOMER, Odissea, La Casa dels Clàssics, Barcelona, 2011.

HOMER, Ilíada, La Casa dels Clàssics, Barcelona, 2019.

OVIDI, Metamorfosis, La Casa dels Clàssics, Barcelona, 2019.

Basic Bibliography:

AGHION, Irène – BARBILLON, Claire – LISSARRAGUE, François, Guía iconográfica de los héroes y dioses de la Antigüedad, Alianza, Madrid, 1997 (ed. original francesa: 1994).

BALLÓ, Jordi, La llavor inmortal: els arguments universals en el cinema, Empúries, Barcelona, 1995.

BURKE, Peter, Visto y no visto. El uso de la imagen como documento histórico, Crítica, Barcelona, 2001.

CALABRESE, Omar. Como Se Lee Una Obra De Arte, Madrid, 3a. ed., Ediciones Cátedra, 1999.

CARMONA MUELA, Juan, Iconografía cristiana. Guía básica para estudiantes, Colección Fundamentos, núm. 148, Istmo, Madrid, 1998 (hi ha reimpressions posteriors; també ha estat editat per Akal, Tres Cantos - Madrid - , 2008, havent-se reimprès l'any 2012).

CARMONA MUELA, Juan, Iconografía clásica. Guía para estudiantes, Colección Fundamentos, núm. 161, Istmo, Madrid, 2000 (reimprès amb posterioritat; també ha estat editat per Akal, Tres Cantos - Madrid -, 2008, havent-se reimprès l'any 2013).

CARMONA MUELA, Juan, Iconografía de los santos, Colección Fundamentos, núm. 214, Istmo, Madrid, 2003 (també ha estat editat per Akal, Tres Cantos - Madrid -, 2008, havent-se reimprès l'any 2011).

CASTIÑEIRAS GONZÁLEZ, Manuel Antonio, Introducción al Método Iconográfico, Tórculo, Santiago de Compostel.la, 1997 (2a. ed.; també està editat per Ariel, Barcelona, 1998).

DESROCHES-NOBLECOURT, Christiane, La Herencia del Antiguo Egipto, Edhasa, Barcelona, 2006.

DUCHET-SUCHAUX, Gaston – PASTOUREAU, Michel, Guía iconográfica de la Biblia y los santos, Alianza, Madrid, 1996 (traduït de l’ed. francesa del 1994; ed. original: 1990).

ECO, Umberto, Los límites de la interpretación, Lumen, Barcelona, 1992.

ESTEBAN LLORENTE, Juan Francisco, Tratado de iconografía, Colección Fundamentos, núm. 110, Istmo, Madrid, 1990

FREEDBERG, David, El poder de las imágenes, Cátedra, Madrid, 2009

FRANCO LLOPIS, Borja - MOLINA MARTÍN, Álvaro - VIGARA ZAFRA, José A., Imágenes de la tradición clásica y cristiana. Una aproximación desde la iconografía, Editorial Universitaria Ramón Areces, Madrid, 2018.

GELL, Alfred, Arte y Agencia. Una teoría antropológica, SB, Buenos Aires, 2016.

GOMBRICH, Ernest Hans, Arte e ilusión: estudio sobre la psicología de la representación pictórica, Phaidon Press Limited, London, 2008 (ed. original anglesa: 1960).

GOMBRICH, Ernest Hans, Los Usos de las imágenes: estudios sobre la funciónsocial del arte y la comunicación visual, Debate, Barcelona,2003 (ed. original anglesa: 1999).

GRABAR, André, Las vías de la creación en la iconografía cristiana, Alianza Forma, núm. 49, Alianza, Madrid, 1985 (ed. original francesa: 1979).

GROVIER, Kelly, A New Way of Seeing: The History of Art in 57 Works, Thames and Hudson, Londres, 2022.

GRANDA, Cristina, Guía para identificar los santos de la iconografía cristiana (1ª edición), Cátedra, Madrid, 2018.

GRIMAL, Pierre, Diccionario de mitología griega y romana, Paidós, Barcelona, 1981 (ed. revisada per l’autor; ed. original francesa: 1951; publicat en català l’any 2008).

HAUSER, Arnold, Historia social de la literatura y del arte, Labor, Barcekona, 1978

HASKELL, Francis, Patrons and painters. A study in the relations between Italian art and society in the age of the Baroque, Yale University Press, 1980.

LATOUR, Bruno, WEIBEL, Peter (eds.) Iconoclash. Beyond the Image Wars in Science, Religion and Art, ZKN, MIT Press, Cambridge, Mass. 2002

Lexicon Iconographicum Mythologiae Classicae, 8 volums dobles, Artemis Verlag, Zuric-Munic, 1981-1997.

MARTIN ALCOFF, Linda, Visible Identities: Race, Gender, and the Self , Oxford University Press, 2005.

MITCHELL, W.J.T., ¿Qué quieren las imágenes? Una crítica a la cultura visual, Sans-Soleil Ediciones, Madrid, 2017.

NOCHLIN, Linda, Mujeres, arte y poder y otros ensayos, Paidós, Barcelona, 2022

PANOFSKY, Erwin, Estudios sobre iconología, Alianza Universidad, núm. 12, Madrid, 1972 (ed.original anglesa: 1962).

PANOFSKY, Erwin, El significado en las artes visuales, Alianza, Madrid, 1979

PANOFSKY, Erwin, La perspectiva como forma simbólica, Tusquets, Barcelona, 1993

PLAZA ESCUDERO, Lorenzo de la (coord.), Guía para identificar los personajes de la mitología clásica, Cátedra, Madrid, 2016.

PLAZA ESCUDERO, Lorenzo de la (coord.), Guía para identificar los santos de la iconografía cristiana, Cátedra, Madrid, 2018.

PLAZA ESCUDERO, Lorenzo de la (coord.), Guía para identificar las escenas y personajes de la Biblia, Cátedra, Madrid, 2021.

RÉAU, Louis, Iconographie de l'art chrétien, sis volums, Presses Universitaires de France, París, 1955-1959 (traduït al castellà per Ediciones del Serbal, Barcelona, 1996-2000; dels volums 2-6 se n’ha publicat, en castellà, una 2a. ed.: 1999-2002).

SETTIS, Salvatore, El futuro de lo clásico, Abada, Madrid, 2006

SETTIS, Salvatore, Warburg continuatus, Descripción de una biblioteca, Ediciones de la Central, Barcelona, 2010

STOICHITA, Victor, La invención del cuadro, Cátedra, Madrid,,2000.

VVAA, The Oxford guide to classical mythology in the arts : 1300-1990s, Oxford University Press, Nova York, Oxford, 1993.

VVAA, Lexicon iconographicum mythologiae classicae, Artemis, Zürich, 1981-1999.

VORÁGINE, Santiago de la, La leyenda dorada, Alianza Forma, núms. 29 i 30, Alianza, Madrid, 1982.

WELSCH, Wolfgang, We Have Always Been Transcultural: The Arts as an Example, Brill, Leiden-Boston, 2024.

WILKINSON, Richard Henry, Cómo leer el arte egipcio: guía de jeroglíficos del antiguo Egipto, Crítica, Barcelona, 2004.

WILKINSON, Richard Henry, Todos los dioses del Antiguo Egipto, Oberon, Madrid, 2003.


Other resources:

Theoi Project.

Theoi Greek mythology --> https://www.theoi.com


Universidad Complutense.

Base de Datos Digital de Iconografía Medieval --> https://www.ucm.es/bdiconografiamedieval/iconografia-online


Warburg Institute.

W.I. Iconographic Database --> https://iconographic.warburg.sas.ac.uk/vpc/VPC_search/main_page.php.

Software

---"If specific programming is required, it will be indicated appropriately"

Course groups and languages

The information provided is provisional until November 30. After this date, you will be able to consult the language of each group through this link. To access the information, you will need to enter the course CODE

Type of teaching Group Language Semester Shift
(TE) Theory 1 Catalan/Spanish second semester morning-mixed
(PAUL) Classroom practices 1 Catalan/Spanish second semester morning-mixed