Author: Getty Library

A Century of Western Art Bibliography Now Available Online

OpenBibArt, an open-access art-historical database, is now online, making nearly a century of western bibliography on art history easily available to all.

The result of a successful collaboration among three institutions: the Institut national d’histoire de l’art (INHA) in Paris, the Getty Research Institute (GRI) in Los Angeles, and the Institut de l’Information Scientifique et Technique of the CNRS (Inist-CNRS) in Nancy, OpenBibArt unifies the contents of four related datasets, whose history is described below, into a single open search platform developed by Inist-CNRS.

“This remarkable initiative was made possible through the hard work and creative efforts of each of the partners,” said Kathleen Salomon, associate director and chief librarian at the Getty Research Institute. “OpenBibArt will help bring the published research and ideas of previous generations of scholars to new audiences, not only to learn from them, but also to consider them anew in the context of a broader and more inclusive art history.”

Researchers may freely search OpenBibArt in French or English to discover a wide range of citations from among nearly 1.2 million journal articles, books, and exhibition and auction sales catalogues published between 1910 and 2007 on topics in the arts and archeology from late Antiquity to the mid-2000s.

Over the course of nearly 100 years, each of the four resources now included in OpenBibArt played a significant role in systematically documenting hundreds of thousands of art-historical and archeological publications of their time.

Beginning in 1910 with the painstaking efforts of French art historians and librarians, the Répertoire d’Art et d’Archéologie (RAA) was under the auspices of the Bibliothèque d’Art et d’Archéologie in Paris (now the INHA) until 1973, when it moved to the CNRS, continuing there through 1990. In 1975 a parallel effort, the Répertoire International de la Littérature de l’Art/International Repertory of the Literature of Art (RILA) began in the United States, initially sponsored by the College Art Association (CAA), first at the Clark Institute in Williamstown, Massachusetts, and later supported by the J. Paul Getty Trust. Finally, between 1990 and 2007, Inist-CNRS and the Getty Research Institute co-sponsored a cooperative transatlantic bibliography, the Bibliographie d’Histoire de l’Art/Bibliography of the History of Art (BHA).

For more information visit https://openbibart.fr/home/

Getty Library Research Grant applications now online for 2023

Applications for 2023 Getty Library Research Grants are now online. Getty Library Research Grants support a wide range of research pursuits through an open call for applications as well some specialized opportunities. They provide partial, short-term support for researchers ranging from undergraduates to advanced scholars requiring the use of specific collections housed in the Getty Research Institute. Applications are due October 17, 2022.

New Getty Research Portal Virtual Collection: Anatomy and Art

Announcing the Getty Research Portal’s newest Virtual Collection, Anatomy and Art, to accompany the Getty Research Institute exhibition Flesh and Bones: The Art of Anatomy (February 22 – July 10, 2022), organized by guest curator Monique Kornell.

The Virtual Collection brings together 128 records of fully digitized art history texts from 10 Portal contributors. Many of the publications in the collection are incredible visual resources, providing insight into how the understanding of the human body has developed over time as well as a view into the visual language surrounding the practices and methodologies of anatomical studies. One example is the earliest book in the collection, Jacopo Berengario da Carpi’s Isagogae breues, p[er]lucidȩ ac uberrimȩ, in anatomiã humani corporis a cõmuni medicorũ academia usitatã (1523) that includes a woodcut depicting a man in the pose of Michelangelo’s David, holding a noose draped around his body, which is a reference to the practice of procuring the bodies of executed criminals for anatomical study. These details illuminate broader attitudes about mortality and society through the study of the human body.

standing nude male figure holding noose draped around shoulder
“Isagogae breues, p[er]lucidȩ ac uberrimȩ, in anatomiã humani corporis a cõmuni medicorũ academia usitatã. Impressum & nouiter reuissum Bononia: Per Benedictum Hectoris bibliopolam Bononiensem,” Jacopo Berengario da Carpi, 1523. Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles (84-B28214).

Library Mask Update

• The wearing of masks indoors is strongly encouraged at all times in Library spaces, but no longer required.

• Masks are available to Readers upon request. Please ask at the GRI Plaza Security desk.

• We continue to require proof of full vaccinations and urge booster shots for all Getty Library Readers.

• Appointment and ticket reservations are still required for each visit.

To help maintain the safety of all staff and Readers, anyone with symptoms – congestion, runny nose, cough, headache, chills, fever, shortness of breath, loss of taste or smell – should stay home, rest, and get tested. If you have symptoms, do not come to the Library.

If you test positive, we request that you stay home for at least 5 days. Return to the Library after day 5, if:

• You do not have any symptoms; and
• You do not have a fever for at least 24 hours without taking fever-reducing medications; and
• You get a Covid antigen test that is negative.
• You must wear a well-fitted mask around others for 10 days after testing positive.
• Appointment and ticket reservations are still required for each visit.

Contact the Reference Desk to make an appointment or ask questions.

Mask policy remains in effect at the Library

A reminder to all current and prospective Library users.

Masks are still required indoors at all times in the Library spaces (even if no one is around or near you). This continues to be the policy at open workstations, reader carrels, study tables, lounge chairs, the Special Collections Reading Room, library computers, scanners, and copy machines, etc.

You may remove your mask while actively eating or drinking in the L2 Community Lounge.

All Readers are required to wear one of the following types of masks proven most effective against the spread of COVID and the omicron variant:
– N95 respirator
– KN95 or KF94 respirator

KN95 masks are available to Readers upon request. Please ask at the GRI Plaza Security desk.

Your mask must fit snugly, covering your nose and mouth at all times.

If you do not comply with the Library’s mask-wearing policy your Reader privileges may be suspended.

Library mask policy update

All Readers are now required to wear one of the following types of masks proven most effective against the spread of COVID and the omicron variant.

– N95 respirator
– KN95 or KF94 respirator

Your mask must fit snugly, covering your nose and mouth at all times.

KN95 masks are available to Readers upon request. Please ask at the GRI Plaza Security desk.

Cloth or surgical masks are no longer acceptable.

Gaiters, bandanas, scarves, ski masks, balaclavas, and masks with exhalation valves are not permitted to be worn by themselves as a substitute for a face mask. Face shields are not sufficient by themselves but can be worn over masks.

If you do not comply with the current revised mask-wearing policy your Reader privileges may be suspended.

Holiday Closure Dates

The Library will be closed to all Readers beginning Friday, December 24 through Sunday, January 2.

Library services and staff (i.e., Circulation, Reference, Interlibrary Loan, and the Special Collections Reading Room) will not be available.

Be sure to submit requests for library materials before these deadlines:

• Monday, December 20, at 2 p.m. for Special Collections appointments in early January

• Tuesday, December 21, at 8 a.m. for General Collections items at the Villa

• Thursday, December 23, at 10 a.m. for General Collections items in Storage and Library Annex

Regular services and hours will resume on Monday, January 3.

Happy Holidays!

Library Reopening News

The Library is open for use with limited capacity and by appointment only to all registered Readers and new researchers.

All Library users must agree to comply with the Library’s COVID-19 policies before and during their Library visit.

Policy highlights include:

  • A ticket reservation is required for entrance into the Library for each visit. Tickets must be made by Library staff.
  • Drop-in visitors are not allowed.
  • We will accept 30 appointments per day on a first-come first-served basis.
  • All visitors and registered readers are required to be fully vaccinated by the date of their appointment.
  • Proof of vaccination against COVID-19 is required.
  • Masks are required indoors. Your mask must fit snugly, covering your nose and mouth at all times.


    • Contact the Reference Desk at (310) 440-7390 or reference@getty.edu to make an appointment or ask questions.

    Thank you for your patience during our phased reopening. We look forward to seeing you at the Library!