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History of Art and Architecture Resources

Finding Articles in Databases

Clay cylinder with cuneiform inscription

Cuneiform cylinder: inscription of Nebuchadnezzar II describing the construction of the outer city wall of Babylon. From Babylonian, ca. 604–562 B.C. BCE. Courtesy of Metropolitan Museum of Art. Public domain.

 

Databases are specialized collections of citations and full-text links to articles in specific subject areas. Using a database can help you limit your search more easily to a specific subject and will also give you citations to works that we don't have in the Brown Library, which you can then request from Interlibrary Loan by using the Findit! link.

For most article searches, you can start with the General Resources box immediately below, and then move on to more specific subject related databases.

A great place to start for general information on artists, movements, sites, and more is the online encyclopedia linked below.

(Please see the Reference Works page for many more encyclopedias and dictionaries.)

General Resources

Note: see more specific boxes on this page for additional resources.

 

Turbaned man surrounded by courtiers

Ali Quli Jabbadar.The King and his Courtiers Persian, 17th century. Luna Collection.

Architecture Resources

Note: see more specific boxes on this page for additional resources.

 

Overview of grassy plaza and ruins of Mayan pyramid

Altun Ha: Plaza A, Temple of the Green Tomb. Mayan, c.550-600. Photo by Karen Bouchard. Luna Collection.

Ancient Art & Archaeology

 

Rock ledge with Native American petroglyphs

Puerco Pueblo Petroglyphs, Petrified Forest, Arizona. Photo by Karen Bouchard. Luna Collection.

 

Medieval and Renaissance Resources

 

White church with pitched roof and steeple in front of cemetery

Sankt Johannes Kirke, Sønderby, Denmark. 1615. Photo by Karen Bouchard. Luna Collection.

Contemporary Art

Global Art & Architecture Resources

 

For additional resources please also see the following subject guides:

 

View of ancient stone city in Morocco

Ksar of Ait-Ben-Haddou, Morocco. Photo by Dietrich Neumann. Luna Collection.

RISD Resources

Note: Members of the Brown community must go to the Rhode Island School of Design Library in order to access licensed resources. They are not accessible to non-RISD patrons from off campus.

For RISD Image databases, please see the Images tab of this guide.

Group of artists working by firelight and candlelight

Enea Vico. The Academy of Baccio Bandinelli. Engraving, 1561-1562. Luna Collection.

Additional Resources