This course aims to understand the "images" of art and to interpret them.
After an introduction to the problematic of images in the different periods, the course will approach iconography and iconology in two successive parts. In the part devoted to Antiquity, we will consider the iconographic evolution of the main themes drawn from mythology and the exploitation that was made in Greece and Rome. The Christian era often takes up many subjects from Antiquity, diverting them from their original meaning. But it is above all Christian iconography that develops, transforms and enriches itself in the course of the ages; this should not, however, make us forget the richness of secular iconography since the Middle Ages. The recognition of the different iconographic themes must be accompanied by their interpretation, whether political, religious, symbolic, etc. It is therefore also a question of going beyond the images for a better understanding of the artistic production.
Oral examination.
The bibliography is given at the beginning of each part of the course. For the "Antiquity" part, the reading of the work of J.- P. Vernant, L'univers, les dieux, les hommes, Paris, 1990 (coll. Point) is an obligatory prerequisite.