iconography; study of image contents
Academic term for the study and interpretation of visual imagery, symbols, and subject matter in art and media.
In art history class, we studied the iconography of medieval paintings.
Compound of 図解 (ずかい, 'illustration, diagram') + 法 (ほう, 'method, law'). The exact historical derivation is uncertain; the term is used in modern academic contexts for iconography.