Artists and Artworks: A Step-by-Step Research Guide: Books

Mont Sainte-Victoire

Made in France, 1902-4

Paul Cézanne, French, 1839 - 1906

Oil on canvas
28 3/4 x 36 3/16 inches (73 x 91.9 cm)

E1936-1-1

The George W. Elkins Collection, 1936
Philadelphia Museum of Art

Search Tips:

• Use Library Search to find books and articles about an artist, movement, or era (e.g., African, Mesoamerican, Renaissance).
• Try searching for the title of your artwork if it has one but your research must continue even if this approach is unsuccessful.
• Contextualize your work in relation to similar or related objects of the same style, period, location, or artist(s).
• Printed books are still important (e.g., Michelangelo Buonarroti, 1475-1564 -- Criticism and interpretation).
• Exhibition catalogs (see below), primarily available in print, contain essays written by art historians or curators.

These search terms would work for the painting in the left-hand column:

• Artist/Creator = Cezanne
• Movement/Period/Style = Impressionism, Early 20th century, Landscape
• Location/Region = France
• Medium = Painting
• Culture/Religion/Reign = French

In book records (i.e., the descriptions of books), look for the word "catalogs" and "exhibitions" or try searching for those terms in the context of your artist:

• Cezanne, Paul, 1839-1906 — Catalogs
• Cezanne, Paul, 1839-1906 — Exhibitions

Need more books on your topic?  Try the following...

1. TCNJ Interlibrary Loan
   If you have identified a book currently unavailable or not held by TCNJ Library, our ILL service will attempt to quickly borrow a copy from another library on your behalf.
    
2. WorldCat
   Search millions of items held by libraries around the world. Use our ILL service to request titles of interest.
    
3. HathiTrust Digital Library
   Similar to Google Books but with a better user interface and search functionality