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Subject Guide for Art History

On this page, you will find a selection of resources concerning Art History. If your topic has a broader angle of cultural criticism, try consulting the subject guide for Aesthetics and Culture as well. You are welcome to contact us in case you need any help or if you have suggestions for additional information on the page.

Reference works

  • Oxford Art Online
    Portal for Grove Art Online, The Oxford Companion to Western Art, Encyclopedia of Aesthetics, and The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Terms. Enables search in the individual databases or cross-search in all the regularly updated art reference works.

  • Oxford Reference Online
    Click ‘Art and Architecture’ under ‘Subject Reference’ – this narrows the search down to online reference works on the subject of art and architecture. You can choose to search within individual, several or all works (about 500, covering a wide range of topics). Provides a good basic understanding of topics and terms. The database also gives access to the newest edition of the Encyclopedia of Aesthetics, 2nd ed., 2014.
  • Danmarks Kirker
    Digitalized descriptions of churches in Denmark.
  • Danmarks middelalderlige altertavler
    Registry over altarpieces dating back to the Middle Ages (1000-1536) in Denmark.
  • Kunstindeks Danmark & Weilbachs Kunstnerleksikon
    This website contains ‘Kunstindeks Danmark’, which is a registry of pieces of art as well as artists exhibited at acknowledged Danish museums. The information is supplemented by ‘Weilbach Dansk Kunstnerleksikon’, a 4-volume dictionary on Danish art and artists.

  • Lex.dk
    Danish website for communication of research results to the public. Includes:

    • Den Store Danske
      Danish comprehensive general encyclopedia; many articles concerning specific Danish matters (in Danish).

    • Symbolleksikon
      E-edition of the book by Finn Stefánsson, 2009.
      Danish lexicon of symbols.

    • Nordisk Mytologi
      E-edition of the book by Finn Stefánsson, 2009.

Bibliographies

  • Art Full Text (Wilson)
    The database gives full-text access to peer reviewed journals etc. within the subject of modern art. ‘Wilson Art Full Text’ indexes 666 journals, of which many are available online. Topics include art, graphic art, ceramics, sculptures, industrial design, folk art, textiles, landscape art, interior design, museology, commercial art, photography, TV, film, video, etc. Access from 1984-, full-text access from 1997-.
  • ArtDiscovery Group Catalogue
    Virtual bibliographic portal made as a collaboration between 50 libraries of art within the WorldCat organization. The database is a free web resource in which you can search across the catalogues of all libraries of art. However, reservations cannot be done directly from the database – see if the material can be found through AU Library or we'll get it.
  • BDK – Bibliografi over Dansk Kunst
    Database containing Danish and foreign-language literature regarding topics such as Danish art history, architecture, exhibitions and museology.
  • Bibliography of the History of Art
    International bibliography covering literature on topics such as architecture, painting, sculpturing, drawing, graphics, photography, videography (not cinematography) as well as installation- and performative arts, gardening and landscaping, crafts, folk art (however limited), design, scenography, costuming, preservation and history of preservation. The BHA covers the period from around year 300 up until today, as well as some Christian art dated earlier than year 300. The BHA is focused on Western art or art depicting Western traditions, i.e. Christian art from Asia Minor and Africa as well as colonial art from Asia and Africa. The bibliography refers to books, articles, memorial volumes, exhibition catalogues, theses, etc. from 1973-2007. The database is not updated further.
  • Bibliotek.dk
    National bibliography of all publications in Denmark dating back to 1841. Also contains catalogues of all Danish libraries (public and academic libraries).
  • DAAI – Design and Applied Arts Index
    DAAI is the best-known international database on design and crafts, covering everything from textiles and ceramics to cars, commercials and sustainability. It indexes journals, reviews of exhibitions, and news within the area from 1973 and forward.
  • The Danish National Research Database
    English language available. Bibliographic database with references to Danish research publications from especially Danish universities, but also from other institutions of higher education, governmental research institutions, research councils etc. Search results can be sorted by scientific level. The database is continuously updated and is the best covering collection of Danish research on all subjects.  
  • Norsk kunsthistorisk bibliografi
    Norwegian bibliography of art history with references to books, articles and periodicals about Norwegian art. Continuously updated, containing about 38.000 references.

Other reference works

  • Encyclopedia of the Bible and Its Reception (EBR)
    Interdisciplinary reference work (still in preparation) about the origin of the Bible, its development, reception and influence on religion, art, literature, music, film etc. Also includes literary references.
  • Lexicon des Mittelalters
    LexMA & International Encyclopaedia for the Middle Ages/IEMA.
    LexMA covers all areas within medieval studies: philosophy, theology, history, literature, art, and archaeology in the period from 300 to 1500 in Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa. Includes literary references. The Intornational Encyclopaedia for the Middle Ages works as a supplement to and extension of LexMA. LexMA and IEMA works as a single, collected reference work.
  • Medie- og Kommunikationsleksikon
    Lexicon of media and communication and the concepts and ideas connected to it.

Other portals

  • Arthist.net
    International information network for art historians all over the world. Here, you can find news about conferences, seminars, job postings, electronic resources etc.
  • Arthistoricum.net
    German website (English language available) for research and mediation of art. Contains digitalized theses, journals, reviews, etc. from Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

  • The Getty Research Institute (Gri)
    The purpose of the institute is to promote and support research of the history of art and architecture. The website gives access to a selection of search engines and databases.

     

Journals

(Indexed in databases *)

A selection of printed journals at AU Library, Kasernen

Article databases

  • Bibliotek.dk – Search for articles
    This Danish article database contains Danish newspaper- and journal articles.
  • ProQuest Research Library
    Multidisciplinary journal database which indexes about 5000 journals, containing more than 3500 full-text journals.

    Part of:
  • ProQuest
    Collection of databases that covers a wide variety of subjects within the scope of humanities, social studies, science, and medicine. It is possible to search across all of these – or to limit the search to e.g. ‘Arts’ or ‘Social sciences’.
  • JSTOR
    Journal database with full-text access to the leading academic journals within all subject areas. NB: it is usually not possible to access the most recent 3-5 volumes, but it is possible to access publications before that.
  • Scopus
    This is the largest database of abstracts and citations from peer-reviewed literature, covering scientific journals, books, and conference proceedings. It covers a large number of international journals within the social and natural sciences but is also relevant for studies in the humanities and information/media. Many of the articles are provided in full text. All abstracts and keywords are in English, regardless of the original language of the article. The entries contain references and citations. Dating from 1966 and forward.
  • Web of Science
    Multidisciplinary database of high academic quality. Try limiting your search to e.g.:
    • Social Sciences Citation Index or/and
    • Arts & Humanities Citation Index on the bottom of the front page under ‘More settings’.

E-books

  • Ebook Central
    tMultidisciplinary e-book database. The books, which are mainly in English, have been published through recognized publishers. The database is regularly updated with new titles, but some are also removed. Includes about 6000 titles within the topic of ‘Fine Arts’.

Newspaper and media

  • Infomedia
    InfoMedia is a large newspaper database with full-text access to a number of Danish newspapers. The articles date back to around 1990.
  • Altinget
    Online newspaper regarding Danish politics – news, backgrounds, analyses, and portraits. Also includes polls, press announcements, and other news from the Danish Parliament.
  • Filmcentralen/For alle
    Filmcentralen/For alle is the Danish Film Institute’s streaming service with short- and documentary films. It includes both newer and more classic films. There is also provided information, background articles, and recommendations to the films.
    NB: Filmcentralen/For alle is a free service which provides access to a large collection of films. If you are asked for a UNI-login, it means you do not have access to the film. In that case, contact the public library in Aarhus – they subscribe to the site and may be able to help.
  • Kulturmonitor
    Kulturmonitor is a digital news media which covers the news, the debates and the analyses within the area of film, performing arts, art, music, literature and cultural politics. Published by Monitormedier A/S.
  • Mediestream
    Available in English. Mediestream provides radio- and TV-shows from selected Danish channels since December 2005. Mediestream is continuously updated with the most recent radio and TV, however with a delay of about two weeks. Broadcasts sent before December 2005 can be found on DVD through the library. Continuously updated.

Editors

Jette Bohn

Librarian
M
H 1582
P +4591356438

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