How to Use the Database

To explore the Medieval Kingdom of Sicily Image Database, use the Explore tab in the main navigation bar. The sidebar menu at left allows you to browse by cities and sites, creator/artist, or collection. The Image Search option allows you to search for keywords in specific fields in the Image records. Once you have begun to explore the website, a “Return to” menu will lead you back to the last viewed city, site, creator/artist, collection, or image, or to your most recent Image Search results.

In the Advanced Image Search, checkboxes allow you to specify criteria including type of site, medium (drawing, fresco, mosaic, painting, etc.), period of creation, and the creator’s nationality. It is also possible to search other fields, such as the fields for description, analysis, notes, and creator name, by using free text entries. To increase the specificity of a query, search by multiple terms within a field, or by multiple fields. To optimize your search, it will be useful to browse some Image records and become familiar with the kinds of information that each of these fields contains.

Image records can also be searched by entering descriptive terms or other keywords in the “Quick Image Search” box at the top of each page. This is a non-targeted search, similar to search engines on the web. Search terms could include “cathedral,” “arsenal,” or “bridge,” creator name or nationality, medium or century (must be formatted as “16th”; the word “century” is unnecessary). Boolean operators (and [+], or, not [-], quotation marks) are supported; both “and” and “or” operators cannot be used in the same search.

The website is extensively cross-linked to further facilitate exploration and research. For example, Image record views provide links to their related site, creator/artist, and collection views.

For many records, links to search results via Google Search, Google Books, and Google Images are included to provide additional information. Where possible, we also include a direct link to the artwork on the collection’s website. Another essential resource for further research is Kubikat, a union catalogue of four major art history libraries in Italy, France, and Germany.

The images in the database are intended for study and research, not for publication; they are therefore made available here at low resolution. Some of these images are in the public domain, while others are protected by copyright. It is your responsibility as a researcher to determine the copyright status of the image you wish to use and, if necessary, to seek permission from the copyright owner. Learn more at our our Copyright and Reuse page.