Cornell Research Guides
Looking for other subject encyclopedias?
Gale eBooks, (formerly The Gale Reference Library) brings together a huge collection of reference sources.
You can also do an advanced search in the Cornell University Library catalog using one or more of these terms:
encyclopedia | guide | handbook
in combination with a broad subject term.
Examples:
Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History
The Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History
(hosted at the Metropolitan Museum of Art)
Why start here?
Why use background or tertiary resources?
- It's a quick overview of a theme, work, author, or other topic, which can save you time!
- Learn important terms for searching, identify notable scholars and/or works, and get more information about a topic.
- Bibliographies for further reading in the works cited sections can lead you to secondary sources you can use in the next phase of your research.
Oxford Art
Oxford Art Online is the access point for Grove Art Online, Benezit Dictionary of Artists, Encyclopedia of Aesthetics, Oxford Companion to Western Art, and Concise Oxford Dictionary of Art Terms. Includes image partnerships and a digital image search.
Oxford Art Online has information on PATRONS, ART CENTERS, PRINTMAKING TECHNIQUES, etc.
For example: Search for Woodcut, chiaroscuro, then narrow search results to "Place article" to read articles on particular cities associated with the historical chiaroscuro woodcut movement.
Then be sure to take a look at the end of the article, at the BIBLIOGRAPHY provided!
Oxford Bibliographies
Bibliographies on many, many topics (a few pertinent individual titles listed below). Provides introductions to each topic area, and includes guides to introductory works, textbooks, guidebooks, journals, reference works etc., and links to useful websites.
Offers peer-reviewed annotated bibliographies on specific topics in a growing range of subject areas. There are at least 50 specific topical bibliographies in each subject area. Each of these features an introduction to the topic. Bibliographies are browseable by subject area and keyword searchable.
Help from Oxford: Anatomy of an Article
Other References
- Encyclopedia of the RenaissanceNew York: Scribner's published in association with the Renaissance Society of America, 1999.
Print only: Olin Library Reference CB 361 .E52x 1999
6 volumes.
"Each entry attempts to proved a learned and succinct account suitable for inquiring readers at several levels.... The college and university student will discover thoughtful analyses of both well-known and novel aspects of the Renaissance." -- Introduction 
A Reference Guide to Latin American History by Call Number: Olin Library Reference (Non-Circulating) F 1410 .H463x 2000 +ISBN: 1563247445
The Princeton Companion to Atlantic History by Call Number: Olin Library Oversize D210 .P936 2015 +ISBN: 9780691148533Publication Date: 2015-01-18Between the 15th and 19th centuries, the connections among Africa, the Americas, and Europe transformed world history--through maritime exploration, commercial engagements, human migrations and settlements, political realignments and upheavals, cultural exchanges, and more. This book, the first encyclopedic reference work on Atlantic history, takes an integrated, multicontinental approach that emphasizes the dynamics of change and the perspectives and motivations of the peoples who made it happen.
The Cambridge History of Latin America by Call Number: OnlineISBN: 9781139055161Publication Date: 2008-03-28Focus on Volume 1, which looks at the history of colonial Latin America.
