Reference
Symbolism & Iconography Glossary
Renaissance and Baroque painters worked in a visual language their audience could read fluently — a skull, a snuffed candle, a lily, a small dog at someone's feet, all carried specific meaning. This glossary explains the recurring symbols and links each one to real paintings in the collection where it appears.
Mirror
Depending on context, a mirror can represent vanity and self-regard, or — held by an allegorical figure — truth and self-knowledge.
4 paintings
Pearl
A luxury symbol associated with purity, wealth, and — because pearls come from the sea and were believed formed by moisture — chastity and the Virgin Mary.
5 paintings
Dog (Fidelity)
A small dog at the feet of a sitter — especially in marriage and portrait paintings — traditionally signals fidelity and loyalty.
7 paintings
Grapes and Wine
Grapes and wine carry Eucharistic meaning in religious painting (the blood of Christ) and abundance or pleasure in secular still life.
3 paintings
Book
An open or closed book can represent learning, faith (scripture), or — in a portrait — the sitter's literacy and intellectual standing.
8 paintings
Serpent
A snake or serpent almost always signals temptation, sin, or evil in Western religious painting — most directly as the tempter in the Garden of Eden, but also more broadly as a symbol of deceit, heresy, or the devil himself.
3 paintings
Rose
A flower with two overlapping symbolic traditions in Western painting: a red rose for romantic or divine love, and — especially in a wreath or garland around the Virgin — a specifically Marian symbol.
3 paintings
Sword
A sword can mark martyrdom, justice, or worldly power depending on context — from the instrument of a saint's death, to an attribute of the personification of Justice, to a straightforward emblem of military or royal authority.
3 paintings
Owl
An animal with two nearly opposite meanings depending on tradition: a classical symbol of wisdom (as the companion of Athena/Minerva), and — especially in Northern European and Spanish painting — a creature of night, folly, and witchcraft.
6 paintings