Langara CollegeLibrary

Art History

This is an introductory guide to useful print and web resources related to the study of art history. Note that not all information about art and artists on the Internet is authoritative or accurate. Only creditable sites that offer free and substantial information have been included in this guide. Most substantial critical analyses in art history still exist in books or journal articles.

See some hints on starting your search.

[ Books & Audiovisuals ] [Course Readings ] [Journals & Magazines]
[ Article Indexes ] [ Dictionaries and Encyclopedias ]
[ Art History Gateways ] [ Images of Works on the Web ]
[ Prehistoric ] [ Ancient Near East to the Classical World ]
[ Romanesque and Gothic ] [ Renaissance ] [ Baroque ]
[ Enlightenment ] [ 20th Century ] [ Non Western ]

Before starting your search, look at your topic and identify effective search words. Think of alternate words with which to search. A helpful way to identify alternate words is to look at related concepts. For example:

  1. Does the artist belong to an art movement or historical era?
    Jackson Pollock - Abstract Expressionism
    Venus of Willendorf - Pre-historic Art

  2. Are there other artists associated with the movement?
    Jackson Pollock - de Kooning

  3. Is the artist associated with a larger social movement?
    O’Keeffe, Georgina – Feminism and art
    Blake, William – Romanticism

  4. What are the social and political context of the period that might have influenced the artist’s work?
    Jacques-Louis David – French Revolution
    Michelangelo – Renaissance
    Andy Warhol – Sixties, Hippies, etc

  5. Are there mythological figures, themes and/or symbols prominent in the specific work or in the artist’s body of work?
    Fertility, Zeus, etc

Books & Audiovisuals

To find books and audiovisuals such as videos on art history, use the Langara Library Catalogue. Some useful subject headings for searching are:

Art / Painting / Sculpture + (place or time period). Example:

Specific name of movement
Art Abstract Art Greek Dadaism
Painting Abstract Sculpture Greek Surrealism
Art Early Christian Sculpture American Impressionism
Art Renaissance Art Canada Abstract Expressionism
Art Roman Art Modern Pre-Raphaelitism
Art Romanesque Sculpture Modern Symbolism (Art Movement)
Art Gothic Art Chinese Expressionism
Art Prehistoric etc etc.

For books about specific artists, enter the name of the artist as a subject search. Example:

Other Related Subject Headings:
Nude in Art
Women in Art
Art - Psychology
Picasso Pablo Symbolism in Art
Beuys Joseph Christian Art and Symbolism
etc Art and Literature

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Course Readings

To find materials reserved for a specific course, use the Langara Library Reserve Catalogue.

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Journals and Magazines

Some well known art journals and magazines available in Langara Library (1st floor) are:

  • Art in America
  • Art Forum
  • ARTnews
  • Canadian Art
  • Ceramics Monthly (kept in Fine Arts Dept., not in the library)
  • Modern Painters
  • Sculpture

Note that when looking for articles in journal and magazines on a specific topic (e.g. Van Gogh), it is quicker to use Article Indexes than to browse through journals issue by issue.

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1. Web Resources - Prehistoric

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2. Web Resources - Ancient Near East to the Classical World

  • Images of Women in Ancient Art
    Written by Chris Witcombe of Sweet Briar College, this web course covers images of women in Ancient Near East to Greek and Roman art and has fairly extensive essays.
  • Oriental Institute
    includes a discussion list, a virtual museum and a photo archive; covers Near Eastern and Egyptian art.

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3. Web Resources - Romanesque and Gothic

  • Netserf
    A metapage to medieval resources; includes art, architecture, history, culture and social life.
  • Romanesque Architecture
    From Digital Archive of Architecture, detailed and large images of Romanesque art & architecture.

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4. Web Resources - Renaissance

  • Uffizi Gallery
    Founded by the de Medici family, the site of this museum offers excellent images of Italian works from 13th to the 18th century; also has brief biographies of artists and a glossary. Images organized by artists, exhibition room and title of works.

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5. Web Resources - Baroque

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6. Web Resources - Enlightenment

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7. Web Resources - 20th Century

  • Bauhaus Archive
    Has fairly lengthy information about various aspects of the Bauhaus movement as well as images of representative works. A very informative site.
  • Canadian Centre for Contemporary Art - Canadian Art Database
    Sponsored by the Centre for Canadian Contemporary Art, the aim of the database is "to document the work of Canada's leading professional artists, and introduce these artists and their work to a broad global audience." Artists can be browsed and searched by name, medium/category and residence. Each profile on an artist include visual documentation of works, a c.v. and bibliography. Artists are listed by invitation.
  • International Dada Archive
    Gateway to information about Dada and Dada artists; includes an online bibliography, links to related websites and introductory articles.

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8. Web Resources - Non Western

  • Art of Japan
    Introductory guide to the art of Japan (five sections: origami, architecture, painting, gardens and sculpture). Each section provides a brief history of the medium, discussions of significent themes and/or types and a photo gallery.
  • Asian Arts
    Website of the journal with the same name, it reproduces selected articles from the journal and has excellent links to online exhibitions and galleries.
  • China - 5000 Years
    An exhibition held at the Guggenheim in New York; text with selected images of artifacts.
  • Kyoto National Museum
    Look under Collections for images of Masterworks and a searchable database of their collection
  • National Palace Museum in Taiwan
    Images with introductory descriptions; look under exhibitions which often have more lengthly discussion of various aspects of Chinese art.

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Article Indexes

  • Academic Search Premier
    Indexes 8,450+ magazines and journals, with full text articles from over 4,600. Covers many subject areas, including a small selection of art related periodicals. Note that most art journals are not full text in EBSCO but titles such as Art in America and Art Forum International are available in the library.

    • Format:  WWW       Access:  Langara ID & password required for off-campus use       
    Date Coverage:  Citations and some full text: 1980's to present

  • Art Index
    Indexes over 220 journals in art history, film studies, interior decoration, architecture, decorative arts and all forms of visual arts; reproductions of works of art are also indexed.

    • Format:  WWW       Access:  Langara ID & password required for off-campus use       
    Date Coverage:  Citations only: 1984 to present
    Print index: 1969 - 1996, mezzanine floor Indexes Area - N 1 Z937

  • CBCA - Business & Reference
    Useful for Canadian art including reviews of shows in Canada. CBCA indexes over 1,000 Canadian academic journals and popular magazines.

    • Format:  WWW       Access:  Langara ID & password required for off-campus use       
    Date Coverage:  Citations: 1982 to present; Some full-text: 1990s to present

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Dictionaries and Encyclopedias

  • Metropolitan Museum of Art's Timeline of Art History
    A rich place for exploring key events and movements by time period, region and themes. It covers all parts of the world up to 1600 although the content reflects the collection and scholarship of the Museum rather than aiming to be encyclopedic. Researched and written by the Museum's curators, most topics have:
    • an overview
    • a listing of key events
    • images of representative works from the collection
    • links to relevant exhibits at the Met.
  • Vision and Art
    A brief course on the psychology of visual perception in art.
  • Web Museum
    A very well known Internet encyclopedia of art history; however, the articles are often not written by art historians or else do not have any information about the author. Use with caution.
  • Contemporary Artists
    Format:  Print     Location:  Reference Area - N 6490 C6567 2002
    Good for brief biographical information and short articles on artists of the latter part of the 20th century.
  • Encyclopedia of Comparative Iconography
    Format:  Print     Location:  N 7560 E53 1998 v.1-2
    Comparative essays on themes, symbolisms and icons in throughout art history, e.g. death, gender, etc.
  • From Renaissance to Impressionism: Styles and Movements in Western Art 1400-1900
    Format:  Print     Location:  Reference Area - N 6350 F76 2000
    Excellent for lengthly introductions to art movements and styles.
  • Larousse Encyclopedia of Byzantine and Medieval Art
    Format:  Print     Location:  Reference Area - N 5970 H813 1968
  • Modern Arts Criticism
    Format:  Print     Location:  Reference Area - N 40 M63
    Fairly lengthly critical essays on various well known artists in the 20th century.

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Gateways

  • Art History Resources on the Web
    Compiled by Chris Witcombe, this is one of the best and largest collection to art related links; the site is organized by time period. There is also a section on museums and research resources.
  • Virtual Museums
    Comprehensive links to museums around the world; organized by country.

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Images

  • AICT Image Exchange
    A royality free exchange image bank for the educational community; covers ancient to the baroque period with a few images on pre-columbian meso America and Native North America structures; images are of architecture and sculpture only.
  • Art Serve
    Over 150,000 images mostly from the Mediterranean basin although a number of works from various centuries throughout European art history are also included.
  • Tate Gallery London
    Over 8000 works scanned; note that the index is alphabetical by artist name and a small square beside the name indicates the availability of scanned images; includes new acquisitions, the Oppe Collection (British watercolours, drawings, oil sketches and prints from the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries) and the General Collection
  • Virtual Museum Canada - Image Gallery
    Search for images of artifacts and art objects in museums across Canada. Users can search by title, manufacturer and materials. Images are also showcased by theme, e.g. Art Deco, toys, etc. A very rich site to explore.
  • World Art Treasures
    Excellent slide library covering well known European works from early renaissance to Roccoco but also Asian art (China, India, Japan and Nepal) selections of works covering Asia and Europe from early renaissance to Roccoco.

Langara College, Library Systems February 9, 2010
E-mail comments to: libsys@langara.bc.ca