Artibus et Historiae no. 13 (VII)
1986, ISSN 0391-9064Up
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ROELOF VAN STRATEN - Panofsky and ICONCLASS
The article consists of two main parts. The first is a proposal for improvement of Panofsky's iconographic theory. His famous three-level scheme is changed into a scheme of four levels of meaning in works of art. This enables us to define the terms Iconography and Iconology much better. The revised "scheme of Panofsky" is exemplified at the case of Vermeer's Woman Holding a Balance (National Gallery of Art, Washington). The second part of this paper is an introduction to the ICONCLASS iconographic documentation and research system. In recent years, the theory of iconography has found some renewed interest among scholars working in the field of (computerized) iconographic documentation. The ICONCLASS system, with its bibliography and alphabetical index, solves many iconographic documentation problems, by combining several layers of meaning; working with ICONCLASS means working along the lines of the revised "scheme of Panofsky". By the use of a particular painting representing the Choice of Moses, an example is given of how the system works.
