BALaT – Belgian Art Links and Tools è un portale curato dal KIK-IRPA Koninklijk Instituut voor het Kunstpatrimonium (Royal Institute for Cultural Heritage), l’istituzione responsabile per la conservazione, lo studio, la conservazione e il restauro del patrimonio artistico del Belgio. Dà accesso a quattro banche dati, interrogabili una per volta o simultaneamente: una ricchissima fototeca che contiene più di 600.000 negativi; una biblioteca digitalizzata contenente circa 80.000 libri e articoli su temi relativi all’arte; il Dictionnaire des peintres belges du XIVesiècle à nos jours depuis les premiers maîtres des anciens Pays-Bas méridionaux et de la principauté de Liège jusqu’aux artistes contemporains, dizionario biografico dei pittori vissuti in Belgio dal XIV secolo ai nostri giorni; un repertorio di persone e istituzioni.
«BALaT allows you to search 4 different data bases simultaneously:
– KIK-IRPA’s online photo library: 682.767 photo negatives covering all aspects of Belgium’s art heritage (visual arts, artistic crafts, architecture, archaeology and landscapes). Some of these photographs date from the end of the 19th century. This collection is constantly expanding thanks to new photographic campaigns and to the photographs of the works of art treated at the institute;
– KIK-IRPA’s Library: 80.000 books and articles related to cultural heritage (art history, conservation-restoration and scientific analyses). Every document (journal articles included) is indexed with a specialized thesaurus;
– The Dictionnaire des peintres belges du XIVesiècle à nos jours depuis les premiers maîtres des anciens Pays-Bas méridionaux et de la principauté de Liège jusqu’aux artistes contemporains (La Renaissance du Livre, Brussels, 1995): covers the lives and work of no less than 6.300 painters, from Van Eyck to Wilchar and passing by Rubens and Rops; from well-known to rather obscure representatives of Belgian painting;
– A repertory of persons and institutions. This list counts 200.000 artists, craftsmen, researchers, authors of publications, conservator-restorers, photographers, collectors, historical or fictional figures represented in the works of art, museums, churches, learned societies, etc..
Just an example. Looking for information on Rubens? By using BALaT, you will find both photographs of works of art by Rubens and portraits of Rubens painted by other artists available in the photo library, books about Rubens available at the library, a link to the corresponding entry in the Dictionnaire des peintres belges, museums that own an art work by Rubens (repertory of institutions) and so on.
It is possible to search all four databases simultaneously or just one of them. Basic and advanced search are available. Images are shown in high resolution and can be downloaded in JPEG format (with exception of the photos taken in the last ten years, which are only available upon order)».
URL: <http://balat.kikirpa.be/> [via EHPS – European History Primary Sources]