Simpson Library: ARTH 341A: Italian and Spanish Baroque Art: Secondary sources (analysis)

Secondary sources

A secondary source is a source that analyzes or discusses a topic, usually by citing primary sources.

For example, an art historian might write a journal article -- a secondary source -- in which they use historical documents -- primary sources -- to establish the context in which a particular artwork was created.

The most common kinds of secondary sources are books and journal articles.

Journal articles

You can find articles using the library search box and the art history databases.

Articles are narrower than books, so in order to find them, you should use narrow search terms.

For this class, I recommend these art history databases:

Art Full Text This link opens in a new window
Art Index Retrospective This link opens in a new window

Bibliography of the History of Art
An index to books and articles in art history that were published between 1975 and 2007. Does not contain full text.
MetPublications
Publications from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, including Metropolitan Museum Journal, The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, and hundreds of e-books.

Books

Find books and e-books using the library search using the library search box.

Books are broader than articles, so in order to find them, you should use broad search terms.

Here are some official subject terms to get you started:

You can also browse the shelves. I recommend browsing these areas on the second floor:

N 6414 .B3: Baroque art
N 6916 through N 6916.5: Baroque art in Italy
N 7106 through N 7106.5: Baroque art in Spain
NA 590: Baroque architecture

Bear in mind, though, that browsing the shelves will only find books in print. More than half of Simpson Library's books are e-books. You'll need to use the library search box to find e-books.

MetPublications

MetPublications is a free website provided by the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Use it to view books published by the Met, including a wide variety of exhibition catalogues.

Many of the books in MetPublications can be viewed online in full text. If the book you want is not available in full text, look for it in the UMW library collection. If UMW doesn't have it, request it from another library via interlibrary loan.