Art History: With so much art around us, we often need outside sources of information to keep from getting confused

Art History: With so much art around us, we often need outside sources of information to keep from getting confused. As always, the Internet comes to the rescue. There are several really good general sites on the web, where you can find the links to all the specialized sites you will ever need.

For an organized view of all art everywhere, go to the Gateway to Art History (http://www.harbrace.com/art/gardner/), which is designed to be used with the monumental Gardner's Art through the Ages. If you're really serious about art, this is the book to have ($87 at http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0155011413/), but the site is extremely useful even without the book.

For links to thousands of Internet art web sites, use ART HISTORY RESOURCES (http://witcombe.sbc.edu/ARTHLinks.html), one section of which has more links to Ancient Roman art than anyone has a right to know (http://witcombe.sbc.edu/ARTHancient.html#Roman).

Orazio Centaro claims that his OCAIW (http://www.ocaiw.com/indexing.htm) is the most complete catalogue of art images on the web, and he may be right -- who can count them? Or maybe Carol Gerten's CGFA (http://sunsite.auc.dk/cgfa/featured.htm) is bigger.

EuroWeb's Web Gallery of Art (http://gallery.euroweb.hu/index1.html) has more than 6000 European works (1150-1750 AD) many of which have commentary and artist biographies.