Iconography

ˌaɪkəˈnɒɡrəfi

noun

the visual images and symbols used in a work of art or the study or interpretation of these.

Iconography is a branch of art history that focuses on the visual symbols and representations used in art to convey meanings or messages. It can also refer to the symbolic images or icons used in a particular culture or religion.

Hanif was fond of railing against princes and demons, gods and heroes, against, in fact, the entire iconography of the Bombay film; in the temple of illusions, he had become the high priest of reality; while I, conscious of my miraculous nature, which involved me beyond all mitigation in the (Hanif-despised) myth-life of India, bit my lip and didn't know where to look.

Salman Rushdie

Midnight's Children: A Novel