Assess students' ability to apply semiotic frameworks (e.g., Saussure, Peirce) to identify and interpret visual metaphors and allegorical signs in Renaissance religious paintings c. 1400–1600. Tasks include distinguishing icons, indices, and symbols; analyzing compositional devices (gesture, color, attributes, spatial relations) that generate metaphorical meaning; and situating readings within theological, liturgical, and patronage contexts. Responses should cite concrete visual evidence from one or two works and justify interpretive choices using semiotic concepts.