Symbols In Art: Multitudes Distilled
Editorial Assistant Katrina Wang traces the history of art through enduring symbols, revealing how multitudes of meanings can be distilled into a single artform
The history of art spans across time and many cultures, each a herald declares boldly to the world that we are here, that we will not be forgotten. We can spread our hands across the red marks scattered across cave walls, an echo of a person left behind in a handprint. Much of our philosophies, our thoughts, our concerns all can be distilled by the mere suggestion of a simple image. For artists, movie-makers, even writers, there are many motifs that recur within our works that call upon these ingrained symbols. How many of you think of mortality ever-present when picturing an hourglass or a skull? How many of you think of time passing in the trickling of hourglasses, in the dripping of hot wax from lit candles? Roses became the symbol of passion, of love and a glimpse of yourself in a reflection—what truths lie hiding in that veneer, waiting to be poked and prodded at?
These are but a few of the symbols that are ingrained in our current culture and the media we consume. Of course, art is such a vast subject, so this article will only cover a select few, the European/Western classics in art.
Colours and Their Implicit Call
As mentioned before, red can represent love—all-consuming or a newly blossoming, yet to grow—or warmth, yet it too is the colour that runs through our veins. Violence is often depicted in varying shades of red, blood-red for blood, flaking brown for faded, oxidised blood. It is aggressive in its eye-catching nature as one of the three primary colours. It is blood: period blood, gunshot wounds, it is one of the colours of fire, the warmth of a hearth and the destruction that sears ground black.
What does it mean when someone drapes themselves in this colour? For women, in the media it is quite the stereotype, an association with sensuality—bold, bright red lips, blood red dresses hugging soft curves, Jessica Rabbit, Ada Wong, anyone? It can both be used to demean women and empower them, from a promiscuous lover to a femme fatale to a character who subverts your expectations simply by being herself rather than the stereotypes the colour she adorns symbolises.
'Women in Red' is a movement by Wikipedia to address these gender biases within itself. A highly commendable/admirable and inspiring effort by women to find and tell stories of women, trying to reduce the numbers of red hyperlinks (that indicate non-existent articles). One remarkable volunteer is Emily Temple-Wood, who fills in these gaps, especially for women scientists. Many, many historical achievements by women within the STEM community have been under-represented or dismissed or misappropriated for men within the field [1]. You can see something similar within older literary works too—go have a fun little session finding famous male authors and see how many had their wives' contributions left to dust.
For men—well, wearing red is quite the bold fashion choice, is it not? More commonly found in comics or action movies, Iron Man, Deadpool, Shazam, and even Superman, a symbol for their strength and driven nature, is this very colour itself. The line between heroism and violence is a wobbly, patchy stretch of ink, and many narratives explore the tension between them too (and whether or not they do it well – well, we shall see).
Red-haired characters are often stereotyped to be hot-headed, rash and disruptive. Whether as an anime trope or an inherent assumption in real life (see Scottish and Irish red-hair myths), colours indicate and attune our assumptions before we have the chance to think a little more critically—the beauty of human pattern recognition.
Still-Life: Dutch And Flemish
Now moving on to a period of art history that still resonates with audiences and is taught in schools today: still life! From early Egyptian and Roman periods, this genre of art is the one of the core art periods that is explored in visual arts and photography [2]. A translated concept in Dutch—'stilleven'— coined in the 16th and 17th CE as a result of Dutch independence from Spain. Known as the Dutch Golden Age, still-life rapidly replaced the usual religious artworks, with the main focus being on the diversions of everyday life drawn and littered with a multitude of symbolic objects [3]. Florals, “breakfast” still-lives, landscapes and seascapes were also common genres. I personally adore Johannes Vermeer's Women in Blue Reading a Letter, with the Astronomer being second; that captures mundane life with such a beautiful use of chiaroscuro a siren's call to me. Most people would be more familiar with his work Milkmaid and Girl with the Pearl Earring.
But I digress.
Vanitas is a sub-genre of still-life that can be essentially summed up with memento mori: remember you must die. The inevitability of death humbles us all. Common then are the themes associated with death and time: a skull, for we live and thus must die; the hourglass, with sand trickling through our fingers as each second ticks by; candles, tilting and dripping wax as a steady flame eats away at the wick; wilting flowers, youth and beauty fading but not yet gone; nibbled on or rotting food, the impermanence of our worldly goods and the natural decay that we are destined for [4]. Is there little surprise, then, that these ideas still linger in our subconscious?
How many times have you seen in a movie where the sounds of a ticking clock get louder and louder as death reaches out with gentle hands, a soft kiss to deliver someone from violence? How many times have you read a book with ravens or crows encircling nearby, carrion beasts ready for a feast? Or perhaps moths and candles and poppies – or maybe it is the setting of the sun, the dwindling light fading into darkness, an uncertain future awaiting? A shattered mirror for deceit and avoidance of truth, musical instruments for fleeting pleasures. A red, juicy apple for knowledge is a fall from Eden [5]. A burst of flames renewed, a phoenix reborn. A lion's roar, snakes slithering or perhaps wrapped around a staff – tell me, what comes to your mind when I say an owl hoots nearby, hollow and haunting in its lone cry?
A dove, as white and pure as the driven snow. A dove, wings spread wide, the tips of its feathers dipped in blood.
A cat, slinking, sauntering in its feline grace before leaping to claim your lap.
What symbols shall tickle your fancy next?
by Katrina Wang
References
[1] Women in Red. (2023). Wikipedia.
[2] Artincontext. (2021).Following the History of Still Life Painting Over the Years. Artincontext
[3] Liedtke, W. A. (2003). Still-Life Painting in Northern Europe, 1600–1800 - The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Metmuseum
[4] Snow, E. (2021). 10 Common Symbols in Still-Life Paintings & What They Mean. The Collector.
[5] Vanitas Art (2025). 13 Symbols That Remind Us of Life and Death Createm0de.
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