The Bildindex der Kunst und Architektur () is an open
online database
In computing, a database is an organized collection of Data (computing), data or a type of data store based on the use of a database management system (DBMS), the software that interacts with end users, Application software, applications, and ...
of 3.2 million photographs of 1.9 million artworks and architectural objects. The owner and operator of the database is the "" ("German Documentation Center for Art History"), known formally as "" ("Image Archive Photo Marburg").
In addition to its own image holdings, around 2 million images from 90 partner institutions are also available online. Not all images are of German objects. In 1976 the institution purchased thousands of photographs of the ''
Du'' magazine of the Swiss publishing house
Conzett & Huber.
Between 1977 and 2008, 1.4 million photographs from 15 different institutions were made available on
microfiche
A microform is a scaled-down reproduction of a document, typically either photographic film or paper, made for the purposes of transmission, storage, reading, and printing. Microform images are commonly reduced to about 4% or of the original d ...
by as the
"" ("Marburger Index : Inventory of Art in Germany"). Published digital reproductions of these microfiche photographs from the original partner institutions now form the basis of the image index.
References
Further reading
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External links
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{{Authority control
Art history
Open-access archives
Photo archives in Germany