Each month, we shine a spotlight on a specific research area, in parallel with our main website, www.brepols.net. This month’s focus is Art History.

How can BREPOLiS databases help Art Historians?
Our bibliographies provide an overview of literature related to Art History. Publications on Art History of Classical Antiquity are covered by L’Année Philologique, whereas Medieval & Early Modern Art History is covered respectively by the International Medieval Bibliography and the International Bibiliography of Humanism and the Renaissance.

How to count the number of publications related to Art History in our Bibliographies?

Thanks to their new interface and the solid indexing and data structure, it’s easy to isolate publications devoted to Art History. Let’s see how it works in the International Bibliography of Humanism and the Renaissance. To select bibliographical records dealing with Art History, first select ‘Discipline’ as search field (1) and click on ‘Art History’ (2). The number of records (50,307) is displayed in the search button (3). Please note that by using discipline > Art History, you can refine your search (Decorative Arts, Painting, Sculpture).

Another way to search for the publications related to Art History in the International Bibliography of Humanism and the Renaissance is to use the filter ‘Themed Search‘ (4). It is then possible to combine our search on Art History with a geographical era and a century (5).

For instance, you can search for the bibliographical records dealing with Art History in Italy during the 16th and 17th centuries (6).

Please note that it can be worth extending your search to disciplines that are related to Art History, like ‘Architecture’ (7), ‘Classical Heritage and Humanism’, ‘Music’ or ‘Numismatics’.

Another way – and not the least – to retrieve bibliographical records dealing with Art is to open the ‘subject tree‘ (8). This is where you can experience the full richness of the indexes of the IBHR.

An overview of the number of records spread by sub-disciplines