Words, Script, and Pictures: Semiotics of Visual Language

by Meyer Schapiro

Book Overview

Essays describe how the illustration of texts has changed since the eighteenth century and how text itself has interacted with visual art.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0807614165
• ISBN13: 9780807614167
• Release Date: November 1996
• Publisher: George Braziller
• Length: 199 Pages
• Weight: 1.25 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.2" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

Words, Script, and Pictures: Semiotics of Visual Language

Unaware that Meyer Schapiro is considered to have been one of America's greatest art historians, I wasn't prepared by the title of his book for an historical account of visual language going back to the 10th century. Although initially feeling somewhat disappointed that this wasn't a more "contemporary" approach to the subject, by the middle of the first essay I was engaged by Schapiro's rich narrative on the relatively narrow subject--Exodus 17:9-13: how artists chose to illustrate not only the text, but how the illustrations reflected the culture in which those texts were considered. I found the second essay to be even better as it covered a longer period in exploring how artists have incorporated text within their illustrations, and how the rendering itself exemplified a period. These two essays aren't easy reading, but if you're willing to invest some mental energy, Schapiro documents a rich tradition of how pictures have been used not only to illustrate text, but to create meanings beyond the text. This historical perspective informs a growing interest in visual language and communication.