Subjects & Symbols in Art: General Dictionaries & Encyclopedias

Rev. ed. New York: Harper & Row, 1979. The best source for quick information about subjects, symbols, and attributes.

2 vols. Chicago: Fitzroy Dearborn, 1998. Alphabetically arranged essays on actions, situations, and concepts. Each essay is divided into sections on motifs and iconographic narratives.

Los Angeles: J. Paul Getty Museum, 2009. An overview of the topic of music, musical instruments, and musical performance throughout the centuries, as depicted in Western works of art ranging from ancient sculpture to Renaissance paintings to modern art.

Munich; New York: Prestel, c1997. 50 short essays focus on a particular work of art or contrasts two or more approaches to a similar theme.

New York: IconEditions, c1994. Objects are arranged into 6 sections by broad subject categories: abstract signs, animals, artefacts, earth and sky, human body and dress, and plants. A seventh section focuses on collective symbols that have multiple attributes and meanings.

Los Angeles: J. Paul Getty Museum, 2005. Divided thematically into 4 sections featuring symbols related to time, man, space (earth and sky), and allegories or moral lessons. Each entry contains a main reference image with the symbol or allegory and a summary of essential characteristics appears in the margin.

New York: Facts on File, 1995. Entries on saints, mythological, biblical and religious characters and events, arranged in alphabetical order. Broader topics ranging from Adam and Eve to Zodiac are interspersed.

New York : Rizzoli, 2001. Each chapter organized thematically, explains the significance meaning of key symbols and figures in Western art.

Los Angeles: J. Paul Getty Museum, 2011. Divided into 6 sections of symbols: antiquity; Middle Ages; Western emperors & Russian czars; ruling dynasties of the West; European aristocratic families; Napolean Bonaparte. Includes indexes of subjects, artists, & noble titles.

London: Frances Lincoln, c2010. Choosing 10 symbols from the natural world and 10 man-made, the author shows how these have been used and developed in art from the 15th-21st century.

Los Angeles: J. Paul Getty Museum, 2007. Analyzes the elements of gardens and their symbolic meanings. Includes nearly 400 art works.

Los Angeles: J.P. Getty Museum, 2004. Includes chapters on plants, flowers, fruits, and animals of the earth, air, and water, as well as fantastical creatures such as centaurs, griffons, and dragons--all used as symbols in art.

New York: Continuum, c2003. Entries on particular animals begin with brief zoological information, which includes the animal's scientific name and classification as well as its range, habitat, and behavior. General entries on cultural, chronological and geographical areas include cross-references to specific cultures discussed in greater detail.

London: Reaktion Books, 2012. Examines the diverse ways fishes have been presented by artists and what these images tell us about the catching, storage, preparation and cooking of fish over the centuries.