This Art History Research Guide demonstrates the process of art history research, from selecting a piece or artifact to finding sources to citing those sources.
Step 1: Choose Your Piece
Step 2: Review and Evaluate the Piece
Step 3: Develop Your Argument
Step 4. Art Analysis and Theories
Step 5. Searching Strategies
Step 6. Citation Resources
Unlike other fields of study, there isn't a lot of art history scholarship. If your piece or artist isn't well known or still alive and creating, chances are the amount of scholarship or any written sources about them are going to be even fewer. You can still research the piece or artist. You have to be more creative and broaden your search. Use the questions in Step 2 to think creatively about ways to research the piece(s) or artist you are interested in.
Over one million images in the areas of art, architecture, the humanities, and social sciences with a set of tools to view, present, and manage images for research and teaching.
All users must register for a personal Artstor account in order to download images. Use the "register" link at the upper right after accessing the database. Licensed for BGSU Main Campus Users only. Note: Artstor is integrating with JSTOR: Access to Artstor will end August 1st, 2024. Visit the JSTOR images page.
WHO is/was the creator?
Source: Adapted from How to do a visual analysis by Curtis Newbold, Associate Professor of Communication at Westminster College