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Medieval and Byzantine Art

A guide for researchers, featuring books, article databases, image resources, and more.

General Image Resources

 
Looking for images on a topic in the Arts & Humanities? 

Explore the tabs in this box to discover resources for finding images in Arts & Humanities disciplines, which include: performing arts, visual arts, art history, history, languages, literature, and philosophy.

Open Web image collections are available for anyone to explore, though the images you find may still be subject to copyright and other use guidelines. Always check licenses and terms of use before incorporating images into your academic and creative work. For information about a resource, hover your cursor over or tap the blue "i" icon.

While some of these resources are image-only databases, many are primarily article databases that include image search features. For information about a resource, hover your cursor over or tap the blue "i" icon.

Note that the resources in this list are provided to the UCLA community via paid subscription access. If you are off campus you will need to need to establish a VPN or proxy server connection; see the "Connecting from Off-Campus" box in the left-hand column of this page for more information.


To search within individual journals:

Searching for image-rich print and ebooks

Print and ebooks are a great resource for finding images. Here is an example of how to find image-rich books using UC Library Search:

1. Enter your search terms in UC Library Search

2. On the initial search results page, locate the "Genre" filter in the left-hand column. Genre terms that typically describe books with images include "Exhibitions," "Exhibition Catalogs," "Pictorial Works," and "Illustrated Works." Select your terms and click "Apply Filters."

3. Your filtered results should now include image-rich items!

 

For more information on using UC Library Search, including how to access and place requests for books, see this guide.


Using print indexes for finding images in books

There are several print indexes that can help locate reproductions of images in books and periodicals for many disciplines. You can locate indexes by searching " pictures -- indexes "  as a subject term in the library catalog. Here are some indexes specific to Arts & Humanities disciplines:

Archival collections, whether digital or physical, are often great resources for finding images.

Here are some digital archival collections specific to Arts & Humanities research. For information about a resource, hover your cursor over or tap the blue "i" icon.


To locate physical archival collections, try exploring these resources:

Museums

Museum websites can be an excellent source for images. Below are links to a few museums with sizeable Byzantine and/or medieval art collections that have images available online. Many museums have also made the images in their collection catalogs available for use under Creative Commons, however you should always check the particular rights associated with any individual image.