History Main / RuleOfSymbolism

** ''Webcomic/Rain2010'': In Rain's final dream about her biological father, [[spoiler:she visualizes [[UsefulNotes/{{Transgender}} Liriel]] giving her his ribbon. While Liriel is drawn with breasts, his hair is undone and he stands behind Rain as if to protect her, obscuring his chest and giving himself a more masculine presentation. This all signifies Rain accepting Liriel as her true, spiritual father, and acknowledging and accepting his identity as a transgender man]].

** In "The Marriage Settlement", there are two candlesticks below a {{sculpture|s}} of a Gorgon's face twisted around each other, but the candles are unlit, while the two dogs in the lower left are chained together and look thoroughly miserable. Below the candles and above the dogs we see the Viscount and the alderman's daughter, with nary a flicker of affection or passion between them.

** The bull and horse are both animals who have strong cultural ties to Spain and have been used in various other of Picasso's pieces. With both of them in the piece, they have often been read as two differing aspects of Spain itself in conflict with each other; bull representing Fascism, the horse representing the people of Guernica, the war their rampage.

** Most of the imagery in the painting revolves around Venus being a LoveGoddess. Very evident is that she's naked and standing in a very feminine, sensual ContrappostoPose -- this is the erotic side of love. Moreover, the seashell below is an object commonly used to symbolize female genitalia. On a more romantic side, one of the minor deities is about to robe her in a pink dress, a color associated with love. Finally, there are some pink roses being blown along with Venus by Zephyr.

** In "The Marriage Settlement", there are two candlesticks below a sculpture of a Gorgon's face twisted around each other, but the candles are unlit, while the two dogs in the lower left are chained together and look thoroughly miserable. Below the candles and above the dogs we see the Viscount and the alderman's daughter, with nary a flicker of affection or passion between them.

* ''Art/AllegoryOfTheSeasonsManfredi'':

* ''Art/TheTemptationOfStAnthonyRops'': The titular temptation manifests in the form of a voluptuous naked woman who seems to act as a symbolic replacement for God. She is tied to the cross in the same manner as Jesus, her expression one of elation instead of the idea of agony being a redemptive tool. Behind the cross, we see an Obviously Evil demon in red carrying Jesus -- who's position implies him to be an effigy of the real deal that was originally on that cross. The inscription INRI (initials for "Iesus Nazarenus Rex Iudaeorum", or "Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews") is replaced by the word EROS, the name of the Greek God of desire and sexual pleasure. This all implies that the temptation is replacing his piety for God with the pleasures of the sin of {{Lust}}, St. Anthony's horror in this vision being him attempting forgo the sins of the flesh in-favor of his piety.
* ''Art/{{Vanitas}}'' paintings, about the transitory nature of life, are usually still lives of the most incongruous objects, all chosen to reflect some aspect of it.

** Lucifer is the only angel who is naked. Other than serving to distinguish him from the divine angels, it's also because of the [[SlidingScaleOfShinyVersusGritty idealist aesthetic]] Academic painters like Cabanel favored. In other words, Lucifer is portrayed under an ideal of perfection -- perfect beauty with smooth textures and a naked body to exalt him and his raw emotions. Only Lucifer, the subject of the painting, gets this treatment; the other angels are poorly-detailed and wearing clothes.

* ''Art/AllegoryOfTheSeasonsManfredi'': The four subjects are {{Anthropomorphic Personification}}s of the seasons, this can be noted by the iconography that surrounds them. Additionally, the way they are arranged is [[https://www.wga.hu/html_m/m/manfredi/4seasons.html commonly interpreted]] as an allegory of the phases of love instead of the progression of the year.
** Spring has a crown of roses on the top of her head, which comes from the fact it's spring when flowers blossom and all life resumes activity.
** Autumn and Spring kissing represents the union of day and night at the equinox. Seeing Spring is holding a lute, it also means that music is born from love.
** Summer's hair is decorated with wheat stalks, a crop often associated with the season. Furthermore, she's grasping a small mirror, which indicates that she's the symbol of the origin of love.

** The fruit and vegetables laid out on the table are all representative autumnal harvests: turnips, black and green grapes, a pumpkin, pears, apples, figs, a pomegranate, and even a cup of squash. This signifies that the four seasons are in Autumn's domain.
* ''Vanitas'' paintings, about the transitory nature of life, are usually still lives of the most incongruous objects, all chosen to reflect some aspect of it.
* Frida Kahlo's paintings tend to involve a lot of symbolism, especially the ones when herself and her feelings in them (i.e ''[[https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/art-1010/art-between-wars/latin-american-modernism1/a/kahlo-the-two-fridas-las-dos-fridas Las Dos Fridas]]'' being an example, symbolizing her feelings during a divorce from her husband Diego Rivera ).
* ''Art/{{Venus and Cupid|Lotto}}'' by Lorenzo Lotto was created to be a wedding gift in the later Renaissance, so much of the picture is symbolic of this.
** The garland of myrtle is a symbol of marriage.
** The roses, the seashell, and the rose petals are all yanic symbols used to represent Venus' femininity.
** The ivy represents eternal love.
** Cupid is portrayed in ''puer mingēns''; a {{Putto}} urinating through a crown of laurels of myrtle suspended on a blue ribbon with an incense burner onto Venus herself (who is portrayed as a bride). In this circumstance, [[ExcrementStatement the act]] is portrayed as a symbolic act of male fertility.
** The fact that Venus [[BreakingTheFourthWall looks directly at the viewer]] was meant to act as the goddess of love giving her approval to the wedded couple.

* In ''[[Art/TheTemptationOfStAnthonyRops The Temptation of St. Anthony]]'', the titular temptation manifests in the form of a voluptuous naked woman who seems to act as a symbolic replacement for God. She is tied to the cross in the same manner as Jesus, her expression one of elation instead of the idea of agony being a redemptive tool. Behind the cross, we see an Obviously Evil demon in red carrying Jesus -- who's position implies him to be an effigy of the real deal that was originally on that cross. The inscription INRI (initials for "Iesus Nazarenus Rex Iudaeorum", or "Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews") is replaced by the word EROS, the name of the Greek God of desire and sexual pleasure. This all implies that the temptation is replacing his piety for God with the pleasures of the sin of {{Lust}}, St. Anthony's horror in this vision being him attempting forgo the sins of the flesh in-favor of his piety.
* ''Art/{{The Rape of Proserpina|Rubens}}'': Venus and Cupid -- both gods of different forms of love and sexuality -- seem to be on opposing sides of this conflict, with Minerva (goddess of war and wisdom) and Ceres (goddess of motherhood and Proserpina's own mother) trying to separate them. This would imply that the painting is symbolic of LoveAtFirstSight, a passionate and spontaneous form of love opposed by those with prudence and who's love for the querents is familial in nature.
* ''Art/DawnBouguereau'': The lily is a flower most associated with devotion and purity, Ancient Greek culture in particular associating it with rebirth and motherhood. Dawn is the time that represents the start of a new day, implying that the AllegoricalCharacter is the youngest of the four. This can also be connected to the white of the fabric she is dressed in, white representing both purity and youth in women.

* Creator/AlexandreCabanel's ''Art/TheFallenAngel'':
** The technicolor region in [[{{Satan}} Lucifer]]'s wings indicates the richness of his negative emotions -- the hurt from God favoring humans and the rage at himself for having failed and at God for having expelled him from Heaven.
** It's curious how Lucifer's wings darken from the outside instead of from the inside. This means that the corruption didn't come from his divine nature, which is perfect because God created it. Instead, it comes from his jealousy toward humans and resentment against God for favoring them when he, Lucifer, has served God so loyally for so long.
** Lucifer is the only angel who is naked. Other than serving to distinguish him from the divine angels, it's also because of the [[SlidingScaleOfShinyVersusGritty idealist aesthetic]] Academic painters like Cabanel favored. In other words, Lucifer is portrayed under an ideal of perfection -- perfect beauty with smooth textures and a naked body to exalt him and his raw emotions. Only Lucifer, the subject of the painting, gets this treatment; the other angels are poorly-detailed and wearing clothes.
* ''Art/LibertyLeadingThePeople'': Both rich and poor are seen charging behind Liberty, suggesting that it is a struggle that crosses class lines. The young boy beside her symbolizes the youth.

** ''RuleOfSymbolism/{{Frankenstein}}''

* The final battle against Asura in the anime version of ''Manga/SoulEater'' is entirely this, which irritated many fansdue to the rest of the series not being like this at all. [[spoiler:To make a long story short... the entire team pull out all of their most powerful attacks against the kishin without doing any damage at all, until Maka and Soul are all alone. Maka pulls progressively more desperate techniques, including willing herself to fall asleep and fight him while sleeping so that she won't feel afraid. In the end, however, Maka gives him a speech about bravery and then destroys him with [[ArmorPiercingSlap one punch]]. The symbolism comes into play when you remember that Asura is the AnthropomorphicPersonification of fear and paranoia -- more power won't make you feel less afraid, and you can't sleep to escape because you'll eventually wake up; the only way to defeat fear is to be brave.]]

* ''Series/InterviewWithTheVampire2022'':
** In the first scene of the series premiere, Daniel Molloy has almost finished a large jigsaw puzzle, which is an analogy for how his mind works as an investigative journalist. He's a well-trained LivingLieDetector who can take disparate pieces of information and see how they fit together to form the whole picture even when the subject he's interviewing is attempting to obscure some of the truth.
** The playing card that Lestat de Lioncourt hands over to Louis de Pointe du Lac during the poker game is the Jack of Hearts; it alludes to Lestat being in love with Louis, who is a much younger man.
** Lestat explains to Lily that he had composed [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ptQLRbpN3r0 the melody that plays in the music box]] he brought from France, and it was for a young violinist he once knew of "infinite beauty and sensitivity." The morning after he makes love to Louis for the first time, Lestat closes the music box, signifying that he's ready to move on by closing that chapter of his life and starting a new one with Louis.
** There's an audio example in the third episode. Music/FryderykChopin's "Nocturne Op. 55 No. 1 in F Minor" is heard in two scenes: the first is the sexual encounter between Louis and Jonah at the bayou, and it continues in the next sequence where Lestat and Louis talk in their coffin room (albeit softer to indicate that it's playing on a gramophone). Both Chopin and Lestat are of French descent, pianists and composers (so of course Lestat would love Chopin's music), and it's a clue to the audience that Lestat was present at the bayou and [[ThePeepingTom spying on Louis and Jonah]].
** Louis and Claudia (who are both biracial) being able to read each other's minds, but Lestat (a Caucasian) cannot because he's their maker mirrors his inability to relate to the racial discrimination that they're constantly exposed to. Lestat's white privilege blinds him to the true extent of their struggles, so he can never understand them the way Louis and Claudia understand each other.
** While Claudia and Louis are both mixed race, her skin tone is paler than his, and her brown tresses are lighter than his black hair. Claudia symbolizes the offspring born from an interracial couple, with [[MasculineFeminineGayCouple Lestat as the Caucasian father (he's her maker) and Louis as the biracial "mother."]]
** [[https://64.media.tumblr.com/7a9e59663f75297bfe8c88ac63c26049/5a0b73358005ed88-fc/s1280x1920/570e763a4e8c84bf45c534f6c91c51bbe5063aac.jpg In a promotional image]] of Lestat, Louis and Claudia posing for a family photo, Lestat's right hand is touching Louis' shoulder, but his left hand is merely resting on Claudia's chair. It's a visual cue that Lestat loves Louis more than Claudia. Furthermore, Lestat is the only one who's standing in the picture, which denotes that he's the patriarch of their household.
** In the seventh episode, [[https://64.media.tumblr.com/e005d85d0a57212671a4811322e31db3/34f8dd0ee6cbd76d-89/s540x810/82e0be3bcc0ddb50ea2866f2265e49e524754dae.gif the striking image]] of Louis attired in an opulent French period costume is emblematic of how the Frenchman Lestat views and treats his Creole lover. The juxtaposition between Louis' brown skin and his white ensemble reflects his African and French heritage. From Lestat's perspective, he gets the best of both worlds — Louis is both [[MixedAncestryIsAttractive "exotic" and familiar]] to him. Moreover, Louis being garbed as a duke [[note]]Lestat calls him the Duke of Gloom[[/note]] while Lestat is arrayed as a king represents that [[DomesticAbuse Louis is under Lestat's control — it's the latter who holds the power in their relationship]]. While dancing together, Lestat leads while Louis has the role of the female partner, which makes [[MasculineFeminineGayCouple Lestat the man of the house whereas Louis is the "wife."]]

** In the series premiere, the playing card that Lestat de Lioncourt hands over to Louis de Pointe du Lac during the poker game is the Jack of Hearts; it alludes to Lestat being in love with Louis, who is a much younger man.

* ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid2'' -- the whole game from Raiden's capture onward, but with special emphasis on the "She ''is'' Lady Luck!" scene. Creator/HideoKojima has stated that the scene where the miraculous bullet strikes Snake's handcuffs and allows him to break out of them, but Raiden remains struggling as Snake dives into the sea, is the most blatantly symbolic scene in the game. ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4'''s ending probably falls under this trope as well, since it revolves around (implausibly) killing off the older generation to make way for the new generation, the game's main theme.

* ''Webcomic/TheLastDaysOfFOXHOUND'' uses this in-universe. When the characters are watching one of the last scenes of ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3'', the white flowers in a field turn red in a dramatic moment. Decoy Octopus questions the reason for such a phenomenon, only to be told it doesn't matter.

!!Examples with their own subpages:

!!Examples:

* Artwork in general tends to employ this, depending on what the artist wants to depict.

* Frida Kahlo's paintings tend to involve a lot a symbolism, especially the ones when herself and her feelings in them (i.e ''[[https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/art-1010/art-between-wars/latin-american-modernism1/a/kahlo-the-two-fridas-las-dos-fridas Las Dos Fridas]]'' being an example, symbolizing her feelings during a divorce from her husband Diego Rivera ).

** The roses, seashell and rose petals are all yanic symbols used to represent Venus' femininity.

** [[https://64.media.tumblr.com/7a9e59663f75297bfe8c88ac63c26049/5a0b73358005ed88-fc/s1280x1920/570e763a4e8c84bf45c534f6c91c51bbe5063aac.jpg In a promotional image]] of Lestat, Louis and Claudia posing for a family photo, Lestat's right hand is touching Louis' shoulder, but his left hand is merely resting on Claudia's chair. It's a visual cue that Lestat loves Louis more than Claudia. Furthermore, Lestat is the only one who's standing in the picture, which signifies that he's the patriarch of their household.

** [[https://64.media.tumblr.com/7a9e59663f75297bfe8c88ac63c26049/5a0b73358005ed88-fc/s1280x1920/570e763a4e8c84bf45c534f6c91c51bbe5063aac.jpg In a promotional image]] of Lestat, Louis and Claudia posing for a family photo, Lestat's right hand is touching Louis' shoulder, but his left hand is merely resting on Claudia's chair. It's a visual cue that Lestat loves Louis more than Claudia.

** In the seventh episode, [[https://64.media.tumblr.com/e005d85d0a57212671a4811322e31db3/34f8dd0ee6cbd76d-89/s540x810/82e0be3bcc0ddb50ea2866f2265e49e524754dae.gif the striking image]] of Louis attired in an opulent French period costume is emblematic of how the Frenchman Lestat views his Creole lover. The juxtaposition between Louis' brown skin and his white ensemble reflects his African and French heritage. From Lestat's perspective, he gets the best of both worlds — Louis is both [[MixedAncestryIsAttractive "exotic" and familiar]] to him. Moreover, Louis being garbed as a duke [[note]]Lestat calls him the Duke of Gloom[[/note]] while Lestat is arrayed as a king represents that [[DomesticAbuse Louis is under Lestat's control — it's the latter who holds the power in their relationship]].

!!Examples:

** [[RuleOfSymbolism/AlfredHitchcock Alfred Hitchcock]]
** ''[[RuleOfSymbolism/{{Frankenstein}} Frankenstein]]''
** ''[[RuleOfSymbolism/StarWars Star Wars]]''
** ''[[RuleOfSymbolism/LandOfOz The Wizard of Oz]]''

** In the seventh episode, [[https://64.media.tumblr.com/e005d85d0a57212671a4811322e31db3/34f8dd0ee6cbd76d-89/s540x810/82e0be3bcc0ddb50ea2866f2265e49e524754dae.gif the striking image]] of Louis attired in an opulent French period costume is emblematic of how the Frenchman Lestat views his Creole lover. The juxtaposition between Louis' brown skin and his white ensemble reflects his African and French heritage. From Lestat's perspective, he gets the best of both worlds — Louis is both [[MixedAncestryIsAttractive "exotic" and familiar]] to him. Moreover, Louis being garbed in an outfit that was once fashionable among the French nobility represents that [[DomesticAbuse he is under Lestat's control — it's the latter who holds the power in their relationship]].