An Ontological Approach to the Description of Visual and Iconographical Representations
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University of Zurich Kunsthistorisches Institut, Rämistrasse 73, CH-8006 Zürich, Switzerland
2
UMR 3495 MAP CNRS/MCC, 13402 Marseille, France
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Heritage 2019, 2(2), 1191-1210; https://doi.org/10.3390/heritage2020078
Received: 31 January 2019
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Revised: 7 April 2019
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Accepted: 17 April 2019
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Published: 20 April 2019
(This article belongs to the Special Issue On Provenance of Knowledge and Documentation: Select Papers from “CIDOC 2018”)
The perception of our heritage is based on sign-functions, which relate visual representations to cognitive types, allowing us to make perceptual judgements over physical objects. The recording of these types of assertions is paramount for the comprehension and analysis of our heritage. The article investigates a theoretical framework for the organization of information related to visual works on the basis of the identity and symbolic value of their single constituent elements. The framework developed is then used as a driver for the grounding of a new ontology called VIR (Visual Representation), constructed as an extension of CIDOC-CRM (CIDOC Conceptual Reference Model). VIR sustains the recording of statements about the different structural units and relationships of a visual representation, differentiating between object and interpretative act. The result, tested with data describing Byzantine and Renaissance artworks, presents solutions for describing symbols and meanings of iconographical objects, providing new clustering methods in relation to their constitutive elements, subjects or interpretations.
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Keywords:
iconography; art history; ontology; CIDOC-CRM; semantic web; digital iconology; digital art history
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This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
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Externally hosted supplementary file 1
Link: http://w3id.org/vir
Description: Ontology documentation
MDPI and ACS Style
Carboni, N.; de Luca, L. An Ontological Approach to the Description of Visual and Iconographical Representations. Heritage 2019, 2, 1191-1210. https://doi.org/10.3390/heritage2020078
AMA Style
Carboni N, de Luca L. An Ontological Approach to the Description of Visual and Iconographical Representations. Heritage. 2019; 2(2):1191-1210. https://doi.org/10.3390/heritage2020078
Chicago/Turabian StyleCarboni, Nicola, and Livio de Luca. 2019. "An Ontological Approach to the Description of Visual and Iconographical Representations" Heritage 2, no. 2: 1191-1210. https://doi.org/10.3390/heritage2020078
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