Research guides: Art History: Art Encyclopedias

Using Encyclopedias

Use encyclopedias both for broad overviews of topics and to identify the major works written about those topics. In addition to the list below, there are many print encyclopedias that focus on the lives and work of specific artists, painters, architects etc. e.g. Dictionary of Canadian Artists; Victorian Painters; Contemporary Architects; etc.

Oxford Art Online
The Oxford Reference Library offers access to the most authoritative, inclusive, and easily searchable online art resources available today. Users can simultaneously search Oxford’s acclaimed art reference works which are listed individually below: the Benezit Dictionary of Artists, the Encyclopedia of Aesthetics, The Oxford Companion to Western Art, and The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Art Terms, as well as many specially commissioned articles and bibliographies available exclusively online.
Allgemeines Künstlerlexikon - Internationale Künstlerdatenbank - Online
The database Allgemeines Künstlerlexikon Online (Artists of the World Online) is the world’s most contemporary, reliable and extensive reference work on artists. It contains authoritative, up-to-date biographical information on more than 1.2 million artists – more than any other database in the world.
The Oxford Companion to Western Art
The Oxford Companion to Western Art contains more than 2,600 entries and provides discriminating and reliable coverage of over 1,700 artists and their work. Articles give fresh treatment to topics of contemporary interest, including art movements, theory, and criticism. In addition to thorough regional and cultural surveys, this publication lists all relevant museums and galleries under the city of their location, such as Barcelona and Moscow. The full text of this reference work is available and searchable in Oxford Art Online, and is cross-searchable with other resources.
Encyclopedia of Aesthetics
The Encyclopedia of Aesthetics features more than 600 articles by more than 500 globally recognized art historians, philosophers, and theorists. While aesthetics is often thought of as a Western tradition beginning in the 18th century, the roots of an interdisciplinary critical approach to art and culture run far deeper – from the Classical era through the Renaissance and up to the present day. From Plato to Heidegger, Romanticism to Post-Modernism, Beauty to Ugliness, this authoritative source provides an even representation of the wide range of competing ideas in the field today. This encyclopedia surveys the full breadth of critical thought on art, culture, and society; it is a comprehensive survey of major concepts, thinkers, and debates about the meaning, uses, and value of all the arts.

Other Useful Art Enclyclopedias

The Grove Encyclopedia of American Art
This resource deals with all aspects of American art and architecture from Native American art to Colonial art to contemporary American art.
The Grove Encyclopedia of Classical Art and Architecture
The Grove Encyclopedia of Classical Art and Architecture is the most current and comprehensive reference resource for the visual arts of the Classical period. It features an abundance of in-depth articles on this field of enduring importance—from biographies to thematic entries on architecture, ceramics, metalwork, mosaics, painting and sculpture. The resource provides fascinating and authoritative art historical and cultural information about art forms, artists, rulers, philosophers, architecture, renowned works of art, archaeological sites and stylistic developments. Notable important subjects include the Apollo Belvedere, Carthage, the Euphronios krater, the Laokoon, Troy, the Venus de Milo and much more. Encompassing over four thousand years of artistry and innovation, this resource spans every art form, medium and civilization from Cycladic, Minoan, Helladic, and Etruscan art to the fall of the Roman Empire.
The Grove Encyclopedia of Decorative Arts
The Grove Encyclopedia of Decorative Arts contains over 3,000 entries covering thousands of years of decorative arts production throughout western and non-western cultures. Explore the works of Alvar Aalto and Charles and Ray Eames, or learn about the history of Navajo blankets and wing chairs in thousands of entries on artists, craftsmen, designers, workshops, and decorative art forms. Also included are hundreds of entries on the qualities and historical uses of materials, concise definitions on art forms and styles, and in-depth articles discussing the history of armor, jewelry, furniture, textiles, and ceramics
The Grove Encyclopedia of Islamic Art and Architecture
This resource offers over 1,600 up-to-date entries on Islamic art and architecture ranging from the Middle East to Central and South Asia, Africa, and Europe and spans over a thousand years of history. Recent changes in Islamic art in areas such as Afghanistan, Iran and Iraq are elucidated here by distinguished scholars. Entries provide in-depth art historical and cultural information about dynasties, art forms, artists, architecture, rulers, monuments, archaeological sites and stylistic developments. In addition, over 500 illustrations of sculpture, mosaic, painting, ceramics, architecture, metalwork and calligraphy illuminate the rich artistic tradition of the Islamic world.
The Grove Encyclopedia of Materials and Techniques in Art
This reference work provides fascinating historical and current uses of materials and techniques in a wide range of areas from painting and sculpture to non-traditional media such as digital and video art. For anyone who studies, creates, collects, or deals in works of art, this book is an indispensable resource. Coverage includes materials in art practice (e.g. ink, enamel, digital materials); materials in conservation (e.g. adhesives); classes of artifacts (e.g. wallpaper, mosaic, ceramic); techniques and methods (e.g. book binding, gilding, printing, weaving), terms (e.g. rustication), tools (e.g. easel, laser), theory (e.g. technical examination, conservation controversies), fakes & forgeries, and conservation theorists and practitioners.
The Grove Encyclopedia of Northern Renaissance Art
This recourse covers people and subjects specific to all areas of Northern, Central, and Eastern Europe, including the diverse geographical regions that now encompass the modern nations of Germany, Austria, France, England, the Netherlands, Belgium, Scandinavia, Poland, and Russia. Featuring rich and engaging articles on artists, artisans, patrons, painting, architecture, sculpture, cities, centres of production, theory, criticism, and more, this reference work is an indispensible resource for scholars, collectors, and students alike.
The Oxford Encyclopedia of Theatre and Performance
This encyclopedia provides authoritative and up-to-date information about theatre and performance from ancient Greek theatre to the latest developments in London, Paris, New York, and around the globe. In addition to performances in playhouses, it covers dance, opera, radio, film, television, and popular performance, including carnivals, circus, and public executions. Entries range from short definitions of terms to lengthy considerations of genres and movements, such as feminism and psychoanalytic criticism. Entries on cities and regions place performance in its local social and political context. Written in accessible language, this encyclopedia brings together an international cast of over 300 specialist contributors.

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