Get Started - ART205 - Introduction to Art History - 500 to 1789 - LibraryGuides at Chemeketa Community College

Getting Started

The Dictionary of Art is a great place to start. It is available in print only in the library on the Salem Campus.

The Dictionary of Art by Jane Turner (Editor)
Call Number: REF 703 D56

ISBN: 1884446000

Publication Date: 2003

The is the go-to encyclopedia for topics and persons in art and architecture. There is an index in the last volume.

General Art Reference Books

Medieval Art: A Topical Dictionary by Leslie Ross
ISBN: 9780313293290

Publication Date: 1996
Larousse Encyclopedia of Byzantine and Medieval Art by Rene Huyghe (Editor)
Call Number: REF 709.02 H98

ISBN: 0600023788

Publication Date: 1963
Illustrated Dictionary of Art Terms by Kimberley Reynolds; Richard Seddon
Call Number: REF 703.21 R33

ISBN: 9780911745320

Publication Date: 1984
Art History: Key Concepts by Jonathan Harris
ISBN: 9780415319768

Publication Date: 2006
The Oxford Dictionary of Art by Ian Chilvers (Editor); Harold Osborne (Editor); Dennis Farr (Editor)
Call Number: REF 703.21 Ox2 1997

ISBN: 0198600844

Publication Date: 1997, 2011
Arts and Humanities Through the Eras by Edward Bleiberg
ISBN: 9780787656959

Publication Date: 2004

Volume 3 covers the Middle Ages; Volume 4 covers the Renaissance; Volume 4 covers Baroque through Enlightenment

Symbols in Art

The Dent Dictionary of Symbols in Christian Art by Jennifer Speake
Call Number: REF 704.9482 Sp3

ISBN: 0460861387

Publication Date: 1994

Includes fewer personal names, but more scenes and symbols, than the The Dictionary of Symbols in Western Art
Dictionary of Subjects and Symbols in Art by James Hall; Kenneth Clark
Call Number: REF 704.903 H14

ISBN: 9780813343938

Publication Date: 2007

Has few illustrations, but contains the most information about traditional scenes such as the Deposition.
Dictionary of Symbols in Western Art by Sarah Carr-Gomm
Call Number: REF 704.946 C23

ISBN: 0816033013

Publication Date: 1995

Gives treatment not only of visual symbols, e.g., dice, but of persons and scenes frequently pictured, such as Gabriel. Coverage is selective.
Encyclopedia of Comparative Iconography by Helene E. Roberts (Editor)
Call Number: REF 704.903 En1

ISBN: 1579580092

Publication Date: 1998

Articles on themes and situations expressed in art, e.g., Light, Grieving/Lamentation, Shepherds, etc.
How to Read Bible Stories and Myths in Art by Patrick De Rynck
Call Number: 704.947 R99 2008

ISBN: 9780810984004

Publication Date: 2008
The Hutchinson Dictionary of Symbols in Art
ISBN: 9781423711322.

Publication Date: 2005
Illustrated Dictionary of Symbols in Eastern and Western Art by James A. Hall
Call Number: REF 704.946 H14

ISBN: 0064309827

Publication Date: 1994

This is a visual dictionary, divided into thematic chapters, e.g., "Animals," with line drawings of each subject glossing the text. There is also a chapter on collectives, e.g., The Four Prophets, and an index.

Photo Credit: Saint Barbara. North French. Painted & gilt limestone Courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art under a Creative Commons Zero (public domain) license.

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ART205 - Introduction to Art History - 500 to 1789: Get Started

Getting Started

General Art Reference Books

Symbols in Art

Getting Reference Help