A Guide to Art & Art History: Encyclopedias

A single-volume handbook containing over 500 articles on the ancient past in Middle America, covering the area now occupied by Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama. Covers sites, sacred places, ritual practices, and a variety of related topics.

Also known as "Grove's Dictionary." An exhaustive encyclopedia of world art, containing articles written by scholars on artists, movements, works, and subjects, each followed by a selective bibliography.

Covers individuals, concepts, periods, theories, and movements in aesthetics, with each essay written by a specialist.

The purpose of this interesting work is to show how fundamental cultural narratives and themes have been represented in the arts. Includes both stories and general themes such as abandonment, envy, and ecstasy. Each essay ends with lists of works that employ the theme and selected secondary sources. There are 7 indexes to enable seeking out names, Biblical themes, literary references, mythological references, etc.

This two-volume encyclopedia includes articles and bibliographies on Italian artists throughout the Renaissance and Mannerist movements.

Offers scholarly and thorough articles on artists, movements, media, periods, national traditions, and so on. Each volume has a section of plates in the back. There is an index to the entire set, as well as supplementary volumes presenting newer information. Though more dated than the Dictionary of Art, above, this set remains useful, particularly for its thorough indexing of plates, making it a good source for locating images of art works.

This five-volume encyclopedia offers good articles and bibliographies on artists, movements, general topics, organizations, etc.

This two volume set offers detailed entries on art and architecture in the Classical world; bibliographies are also provided after every entry, providing an excellent path to finding related sources.

Two volume encyclopedia of decorative arts, including furniture, glassware, metalwork and pottery among others.

Presents over 1,000 entries on Islamic art and architecture. Includes bibliographies.

This 3 volume encyclopedia includes articles and bibliographies on all aspects of Renaissance art in northern Europe ranging from artists, architecture, and patrons to the cities and centers of production vital to the flourishing of art in this period.

Profiles over 2400 architects from all regions and periods through the 1970s, providing biographical and critical information as well as, in many cases, a bibliography for further research. Note that the publication date of this work limits coverage of contemporary developments and theoretical approaches.

Covers early Christian and Byzantine topics.

An exhaustive catalog of Italy's archaeological sites, churches, palaces, and other notable structures. The first five volumes are arranged by region and province; volume six offers a pronunciation guide.

Solid, scholarly articles on a part of the world that has been the site of significant cultural developments in archaeology, history and the arts.

Offers biographical-critical sketches on contemporary artists worldwide. Coverage is limited to prominent artists. An earlier volume covers 1950-1980.