Image

=== Meaning and signification ===
Images of any type may convey different meanings and sensations for individual viewers, regardless of whether the image's creator intended those. An image may be taken simply as a more or less "accurate" copy of a person, place, thing, or event. It may represent an abstract concept, such as the political power of a ruler or ruling class, a practical or moral lesson, an object for spiritual or religious veneration, or an object—human or otherwise—to be desired. It may also be regarded for its purely [[Aesthetics|aesthetic]] qualities, rarity, or monetary value. Such reactions can depend on the viewer's context. A religious image in a church may be regarded differently than the same image mounted in a museum. Some might view it simply as an object to be bought or sold. Viewers' reactions will also be guided or shaped by their education, class, race, and other contexts.

The study of emotional sensations and their relationship to the image falls into the categories of [[aesthetics]] and the philosophy of art. While such studies inevitably deal with issues of meaning, another approach to signification was suggested by the American philosopher, logician, and [[Semiotics|semiotician]] [[Charles Sanders Peirce]].

"Images" are one type of the broad category of "signs" proposed by Peirce. Although his ideas are complex and have changed over time, the [[Semiotic theory of Charles Sanders Peirce#II. Icon, index, symbol|three categories of signs]] that he distinguished stand out:

# The "'''icon'''," which relates to an object by resemblance to some quality of the object. A painted or photographed portrait is an icon by virtue of its resemblance to the painting's or photograph's subject. A more abstract representation, such as a map or diagram, can also be an icon.
# The "'''index'''," which relates to an object by some real connection. For example, smoke may be an index of fire, or the temperature recorded on a thermometer may be an index of a patient's illness or health.
# The "'''symbol'''," which lacks direct resemblance or connection to an object but whose association is arbitrarily assigned by the creator or dictated by cultural and historical habit, convention, etc. The color red, for example, may connote rage, beauty, prosperity, political affiliation, or other meanings within a given culture or context; the Swedish film director Ingmar Bergman claimed that his use of the color in his 1972 film ''[[Cries and Whispers]]'' came from his personal visualization of the human soul.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Matthew |title=Cries and Whispers (1972) |url=https://www.classicartfilms.com/cries-and-whispers-ingmar-bergman-1972 |website=Classic Arts Films |access-date=23 November 2023}}</ref>{{Relevance inline|date=November 2023}}

A single image may exist in all three categories at the same time. The [[Statue of Liberty]] provides an example. While there have been countless two-dimensional and three-dimensional "reproductions" of the statue (i.e., "icons" themselves), the statue itself exists as

* an "icon" by virtue of its resemblance to a human woman (or, more specifically, previous representations of the Roman goddess [[Libertas]] or the female model used by the artist [[Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi|Frederic-Auguste Bartholdi]]).<ref>{{cite web |last1=Hammond |first1=Gabriela |title=The Woman Behind the Statue of Liberty: Who Is Lady Liberty? |url=https://www.statueoflibertytour.com/blog/the-woman-behind-the-statue-of-liberty-who-is-lady-liberty/#:~:text=So%20who%20was%20the%20Statue,in%20the%20artist's%20own%20mind. |website=Statue of Liberty Tour |access-date=23 November 2023}}</ref>{{Better source needed|date=November 2023}}
* an "index" representing [[New York City]] or the United States of America in general due to its placement in [[New York Harbor]], or with "immigration" from its proximity to the immigration center at [[Ellis Island]].
* a "symbol" as a visualization of the abstract concept of "liberty" or "freedom" or even "opportunity" or "diversity".