Liber Chronicarum
Often a good place to begin your research on a specific object is the website of the museum that owns it. This copy of the Nuremberg Chronicle is owned by the Toledo Museum of Art. Its collections database contains a bibliography of published references to this artwork (see below). A bibliography like this can give you an important place to start gathering information about your artwork.
Search the five essential databases listed on this page for your artist and/or artwork. Pay attention to variations in spelling or phrasing that could impact your search results. This can be especially important for rare books, which can be known by the names of their collectors, owners or institutions or by nicknames, and which also can have several different translations of their titles. For example, the book above is called the "Liber Chronicarum," the "Book of Chronicles" and the "Nuremberg Chronicle." You could search for the name of the artist responsible for the woodcuts (Michel Wolgemut) or the printer (Anton Koberger).
You should contextualize your artwork in your research. Find other artworks you want to discuss in relation to it. This could mean works by the same artist, of the same subject, in the same medium, or made at the same time or place. How you choose to contextualize your artwork will establish the direction of your research.
In order to do this, pay attention to which artworks are traditionally discussed in relation to yours and think of ways to broaden this discussion. I like to search Artstor for themes to discover new works.
Don't forget that the best resources for art historical research are almost always books. Leave yourself enough time to use OhioLINK and request books from other libraries that may take several days or a week to arrive.
Image: Michel Wolgemut (German, 1434-1519). "Venice" from the Liber Chronicarum. 1493. Anton Koberger (printer) (German, 1445-1513). Toledo Museum of Art.
Books on self portraits
The Moment of Self-Portraiture in German Renaissance Art by Call Number: ND588.D9 K82 1993ISBN: 0226449998Publication Date: 1997This is very on topic for this class. We have a copy in our library but many additional copies are available through OhioLINK.
The Artist Revealed: Artists and their Self-Portraits by Call Number: OhioLINKISBN: 1840135476Publication Date: 2003Includes chapters on Jan van Eyck, Albrecht Durer and Hans Holbein the Younger.
The Self-Portrait: A Cultural History by Call Number: OhioLINKISBN: 9780500239100Publication Date: 2014
Self Portrait: Renaissance to Contemporary by Call Number: OhioLINKISBN: 9781855143579Publication Date: 2006Catalog of an exhibition organized by the National Portrait Gallery, London.
Sources on N. Renaissance manuscripts
Illuminating the Renaissance: The Triumph of Flemish Manuscript Painting in Europe by Call Number: OVERSIZE ND3171 .K74 2003ISBN: 0892367040Publication Date: 2003Catalog of an exhibition at the Getty. The companion publication, Flemish Manuscript Painting in Context: Recent Research, is available online.
The Illuminated Page by Call Number: ND2920 .B32 1998ISBN: 9780802043467Publication Date: 1997Examples from the British Library's unparalleled collection of manuscripts dating from the 7th to the 17th centuries.
The Golden Age of Dutch Manuscript Painting by Call Number: ND3167.D43 1990ISBN: 0807612286Publication Date: 1990Examples of 15th century Dutch manuscripts.
Pictorial Invention in Netherlandish Manuscript Illumination of the Late Middle Ages by Call Number: OVERSIZE ND3172.F55 M37 2005ISBN: 904291615XPublication Date: 2005In this book, James H. Marrow discusses prominent features of many of the most exuberant illuminated manuscripts created by leading Flemish illuminators of the 15th and the 16th centuries.
- Digital ScriptoriumFree online access to collections of pre-modern manuscripts from a consortium of American libraries and museums. No browse option makes this difficult to use for general discovery.
Your Art Librarian
Essential Art Databases
- Art Full Text & Art Index Retrospective1929-present. Includes articles from international art journals, magazines, yearbooks, and museum bulletins. Some full text.
- JSTOR1603-three years ago. A wonderful source for full-text scholarly articles in history and art history. Includes 19th century art journals and museum publications. Full text.
- Oxford Art OnlineOnline encyclopedia great for finding information about individual artists and movements. Includes the important and comprehensive Grove Dictionary of Art. Full text. Access limited to 3 users at a time.
- WorldCat (OCLC FirstSearch)Use WorldCat to find and request books in libraries all over the United States, Europe and Asia. Perfect for finding exhibition catalogs that may only be owned by a few libraries.