Reference Images
If you need a reference image of an artwork, scroll down for tips! If you need reference images of other stuff, ask yourself:
- Do I need to see versions of the reference images digitally AND in print?
- Do I want photographs of objects, or examples of those objects in paintings?
- Where would authentic, high quality images live?
- For example, if you need reference images of birds, instead of taking your chances with a Google image search, think to yourself "who would spend the time and money to publish high quality bird reference images? A: Audubon would have a searchable tool on their website or I can borrow books from the library.
- Should I look for an image bank with multiple images I can browse through?
- For example, these subject-specific image banks
High Resolution Scanning
As scanning technology advances, museums are spending more time and money to create extremely high quality scans of every centimeter of a painting, so you can zoom into every detail without losing quality. The Lesley Library pays for Artstor, a database of these images available in the JSTOR database. Search for something specific, or browse these fine arts categories:
- Prints
- Paintings
- Drawings & Watercolors
- Sculpture & Installation
- Film, Audio, Visual, and Digital Art
Some scans are so advanced they are hosted on the museum website instead of Artstor, so try searching online for high quality scan of *name of work* to see if you can find an even better scan. Check out some examples of museums using the latest technology below.
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Google Arts and CultureGAC links to museum scans of art which are often higher quality and more recent than the Artstor scans. However Artstor can be useful if you want to see an older scan of a work before it was modernly conserved.
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For example
If you search Google Arts & Culture for Vermeer's painting "Diana and Her Companions" you will find the modern scan of the image to the right. Whereas in Artstor, you can find a scan from before its modern conservation, which reveals that after the artists death someone painted in a blue sky. This is how using scans from the past in conjunction with modern high-res scans can give a fuller understanding to the life of an artwork
3D Works
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Artstor PanoramasSearch for "panorama" or search for something specific and limit your results to just panoramas
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British Museum 3D Scans3D models of historical objects in the British Museum's collection