College of DuPage Library

Reference Books

Confused about your topic, or not sure where to begin? Start here! Reference books are written to give you a good general overview of a topic. Print reference works are for in-library use only; ebooks can be viewed on and off campus if you have a current COD library card. The reference section is on the first floor of the library, behind the staircase. You can use the catalog or Reference Universe to find both print and electronic reference books.

• 30,000 Years of Art - N5300 .A14 2015
  • This little book is a huge timeline of art, from prehistory to contemporary! Each page contains a color photo of an artwork, the bibliographic information, and a short article. Each entry is color coded on the bottom edge of the page depending on the continent the work originated from. There is a smaller timeline of just text at the end, before the index.
  • See pgs 196-7, 203, 210, 218, 276, 283
• Arts & Humanities Through the Eras - NX440 .A787 2005
  • This set has 5 volumes dedicated to different eras. Topics covered include music, fashion, architecture, visual arts, theater, and much more! Each book has an era overview, chronology, and table of contents at the beginning of each book and each chapter. Also included are black and white photos, maps, and illustrations; a bibliography after each entry; glossary; and index.
  • See Volume 3: "Medieval Europe"
• Grove Dictionary of Art - N31 .D5 1996
  • This is an older resource, but one of the most comprehensive art resources there is. The articles and biographies are a little longer, and features black and white photos and illustrations, maps, and an index. Also part of Oxford Art Online!
  • See “Anglo-Saxon” Volume 2 pgs 63-84
  • See “Byzantine” Volume 9 pgs 506-669
  • See“Carolingian” Volume 5 pgs 792-812
  • See“Early Christian” Volume 9 pgs 506-669
  • See“Gothic” Volume 13 pgs 31-197
  • See“Insular art” Volume 15 pgs 870-8
  • See“Lombard art” Volume 19 pgs 548-50
  • See“Merovingian” Volume 21 pgs 161-5
  • See“Ostrogothic” Volume 28 pgs 623-4
  • See“Ottonian” Volume 23 pgs 645-61
  • See“Romanesque” Volume 26 pgs 566-703
  • See“Viking” Volume 32 pgs 512-34
  • See“Visigothic” Volume 32 pgs 617-19
• The Oxford Companion to Christian Art and Architecture - N7830 .M87 1996
  • Oxford is one of the premier publishers for art and architecture. This book offers concise articles on the Christian elements of Western art movements, artists, and art history, and includes entries on religious figures and events. Also available in e-book.
  • See “Anglo-Saxon art and architecture” pg 19-22
  • See “Early Christian art and architecture” pg 148-154
  • See “Gothic art and architecture” pg 204-15
  • See “Romanesque art and architecture” pg 435-48
• The Oxford Companion to to Western Art - N33 .O923 2001
  • Oxford is one of the premier publishers for art and architecture. This book offers concise articles on Western art movements, artists, and art history. Also available in e-book.
  • See “Anglo-Saxon” Art pg 20-1
  • See “Early Christian Art” pg 203-4
  • See “Gothic” pg 302-7
• Oxford Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture - NA31 .C864 2006
  • Oxford is one of the premier publishers for art and architecture. This dictionary contains short, concise entries on architects as well as architectural terms and periods. Features black and white photos and illustrations and a bibliography after each entry.
  • See “Anglo-Saxon architecture” pgs 26-7
  • See “Gothic” pgs 324-5
  • See “Viking ornament” pgs 821-2

Circulating Books

These are books you can check out! They can get more specific than reference books and are located on the second floor of the library. You can search the catalog before going up or click the box below to see the call numbers for art books so you can browse the shelves. If you find a book while searching that looks awesome but that we don't own, you can submit an inter-library loan request through I-Share and another library will send you the book for free! You will need a COD library card to check books out.

• Art Past, Art Present - N5300 .W64 1997
  • A world look at art in chronological order from ancient to publication in 1997. The chapters are short, basically an overview of each art period, with a timeline at the end of each chapter. Features a table of contents; black and white and color photos and maps; bibliography; index; and glossary.
• The Cloisters: Medieval Art and Architecture - N611.C6 A85 2005
  • Guidebook to the Cloisters branch of the Met in New York City, in which they have recreated a medieval church with tons of artifacts inside! They've written about the history of all the art and architectural pieces that they own. Features a table of contents; black and white and color photos and maps; a glossary; bibliography; and index.
• Masterpieces: Early Medieval Art - N5964 .G7 M37 2013
  • A catalog of the British Museum’s medieval collection from all over Europe, spanning the fall of the Romans to the 12th century. Chapters are in chronological order with an object, it’s bibliographic information, and a short essay on each page. Features a table of contents; color photos and maps; bibliography; glossary; and index.
• Medieval Art - N5970 .S45 2001
  • An Oxford publication that gives an overall look at medieval art by theme, and talks about the emerging role of an artist and art’s place in the church. Features a table of contents; black and white and color photos and maps; bibliography; and index.
• Medieval Art: Painting-Sculpture-Architecture, 4th-14th Century - N5975 .S58 1989b
  • Looks at medieval art all over Europe, including Byzantine art and the emergence of Romanesque and Gothic art. Features a table of contents; black and white and color photos, maps, and diagrams; bibliography; and index.
• Sculpture of the World: A History - NB60 .C55 1968
  • A chronological view of sculpture from primitive and ancient to the 1960’s. Features a table of contents; black and white photos and maps; bibliography; and index.

Databases and Websites

All these are web resources that the COD library has subscribed to or that have been gathered from the internet that are helpful for this topic!

Databases - Best Bets

Below are library databases where you can access journal articles and other content. Most of these may be accessed from off-campus, but you must have a COD library card to do so.

Some suggested keywords and subject terms to use when searching for articles on this subject are:
- “Medieval art”
- “Medieval art objects”
- “Medieval architecture”

• Academic OneFile
  • Contains nearly 13,000 indexed journals, newspapers, and magazines, most peer reviewed and many full-text. The research is very current, not much historical content, but there are a wide range of topics covered. There's a really cool topic finder on the search results page, which gives you keywords related to your search! You have the option to save, download, or email the text or MP3 of the article, and you can make a free account to highlight and make notes on the article within the database.
• Academic Search Complete
  • Contains over 9000 journals, about 7000 of which are full-text. Some journals go back to 1880’s so you can get historical and recent publications on any given topic. There are plenty of options to narrow your search and to save and cite your article.
• Art & Architecture Complete
  • Similar to Academic Search Complete except it contains only art-specific publications! If you're looking for the subject browsing function, it's titled Thesaurus.
• Artstor
  • Find images of artworks that can be used in papers and presentations! You can search or browse by geography, media, or museum/gallery collections. Make a free account to save, organize, cite, or export images. Take a look through their subject guides to get ideas for your next project! See the Artstor Quick Start Guide for tips on using this resource.
• Oxford Art Online
  • An art major's best friend. This database includes the full text of Grove Art Online, the Oxford Companion to Western Art, the Encyclopedia of Aesthetics, and The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Art Terms. Your one-stop shop for scholarly articles, biographies, and definitions of all things art-related.

Websites

These resources were compiled from the internet. No library card required!

• The Art Institute of Chicago - Arms, Armor, Medieval, and Renaissance
  • The homepage for the Medieval and Renaissance arms and armor collection at AIC. You can read different articles by clicking the links in the dark grey sidebar on the left. You can also see the works just in this collection by clicking the View Featured Works link.
• Cleveland Museum of Art - Medieval Art
  • The homepage for the Medieval Art collection at the Cleveland Museum of Art. Once you're in the collection, you can search or browse. Clicking an object will take you to a page with a bigger picture of the object, the bibliographic information, and detail views.
• Google Art Project
  • The Google Art Project is the result of a partnership with museums and galleries to put the art online for free! You can search and browse by museum, collection, artist, or artwork. If you have a Google account, you can create your own "gallery" so you can save and categorize your favorite artwork.
• Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History - Medieval Art
  • Links to the "keyword" feature of the Timeline, which lists all the essays, artworks, and timeline with the "Medieval Art" tag. Curated by the Met.
• The Walter’s Art Museum - Medieval Europe
  • Browse through the Medieval Europe collection at the Walter’s Art Museum in Baltimore. There is a really cool slider that goes through the pages! Hovering over a picture will give you a quick overview of object, and clicking on will take you to the full bibliographic record, where you can explore the object by zooming in and clicking different views.