The Symbols of Art: Decoding the Hidden Meanings of Art

by Susie Hodge

Why is there a lily in that religious picture? Why is there a bubble in that still-life? Great works of arts from all periods often have details or objects that carry symbolic meanings. 

Sometimes those symbols would have been obvious to contemporary viewers but now need explaining to a modern audience who are less familiar with, say, Christian iconography or Classical myths. In other cases, the symbolism is deliberately obscure designed to add a hidden layer of meaning to the work, to make the viewer work at its true meaning. And it's not just works from earlier history where symbolism is trains crop up in the background of many Impressionist paintings as a way of referencing the modern world. Other artists have their own private symbols, like Josef Beuys whose regular use of felt and animal fat was a link to the experiences of his earlier life.

This book includes hundreds of symbols from across different periods and styles of art history. Each one is illustrated with at least one example, and a number of paintings are fully ‘dissected’ to show the range of different symbols in each one.

Organized by type of symbol and with extensive indexing, the book is an invaluable, easy-to-use guide to help readers get the most out of works of art.

Genres: Art

272 pages, Hardcover

Published May 5, 2026

Reviews

[Piny]

Je vais copier/coller l'avis que j'ai donné à mes copines :

Alors c'est un très joli livre qui à mon avis s'adresse surtout à des gens n'ayant pas forcément beaucoup de connaissances en histoire de l'art parce que, format oblige, chaque thème/objet/symbole traité doit tenir en une page ce qui force à être un peu concis. Du coup pour la plupart des pages je savais la majorité de ce qui allait être dit + j'avais envie d'ajouter des choses ! Sur les yeux chez Modigliani, sur le bleu de la Vierge, sur les figues dans l'art, SUR ANISH KAPOOR CE DÉBILE etc.

Ceci dit, je ne regrette pas mon achat puisque l'autrice a le bon goût de parler aussi d'œuvres et se significations autres qu'occidentales - dont certaines avec lesquelles je suis moins familière - de présenter des pièces desdits pays (on note quand même une grosse préférence pour le Japon quand il s'agit de donner des exemples non-occidentaux mais bon pas uniquement) et en fait ça donne des exemples et pistes de réflexions si je veux creuser un sujet donc c'est pas inutile.

Là où je vais être péremptoire c'est que trois exemples de Banksy c'est beaucoup trop parce que, personnellement, je le trouve nul. Il y a eu plusieurs exemples de Gauguin (pertinent pour le bananes, pas nécessaire pour le reste imo) mais ma haine de Gauguin est plus sur sa personne que sur ses capacités graphiques donc bon, je laisse couler. ALORS QUE BANKSY-

[Gerardine Betancourt]

I love this book. It feels like a little guide that helps you understand symbols and what they mean in paintings. Susie Hodge takes something that can feel intimidating and breaks it down into simple, easy entries—covering animals, flowers, objects, colors, even shapes. Each symbol comes with artwork examples, so you can actually see how the meanings change across different cultures and time periods. It never feels too academic, just really accessible, interesting, and honestly not boring at all.
Highly recommend

[Tabish Khan]

Ever wanted to know what a particular plant, flower or colour is meant to mean in an artwork? This handy reference book sets them all out and highlights how this may vary across cultures, whether that be Ancient Egypt, Mesoamerica, or Impressionism. A very helpful book to have.

[Tania]

I've read many books by this author. They all bring me immense pleasure! But this one especially with it's brilliant format.