Iconology: Method or S tructure?

The present article is a review and critique of the book of Meaning in Visual Arts, by Erwin Panofsky. He is one of the mos t famous his torians of the twentieth century, who linked the European tradition of art his toriography with the American tradition, with his theories. Mos t of this author’s reputation is due to his innovative method of interpreting the artis tic symbols, called iconology. The book consis ts of three important articles by Panofsky and a critique by American scholar, Michael Ann Holly. The three primary articles of the book summarize Panofsky’s views on the methodology of his art his toriography and his methodology of iconology. The present article deals with the analysis of each of the articles in the four main sections. These sections relate, respectively, to the Panofsky’s theory of art his tory, the pathology of iconology methods in the his tory of art, the development of the Theory of Human Proportions in art, as well as a critical analysis of Panofsky’s views.