RKD On-line Databases

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The RKD offers eight on-line databases. They are accessible free of charge. Five of these databases provide access to a large portion of the RKD collections.

The RKDcollectionsdatabases
The databases are linked wherever possible. This allows one to click from an artist’s record in RKDartists& to the applicable art-work description in RKDimages, to the archive descriptions in RKDcollections&archives or to the publication descriptions in RKDlibrary.

All search entries, field names and help texts are now offered in English as well as in Dutch, with the sole exception of those in the RKDportraits database. With time, the RKD plans to offer parts of the database contents in English as well. Records can be selected with very specific searches; the RKD organizes regularly worshops for interested users of RKDimages and RKDartists& (upon request also in English).
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Dynamic Publication
New information is added to the databases on a daily basis. Some information, such as the unique biographical data in RKDartists& and the attributions of works of art by RKD experts in RKDimages, is found only on this website. You can therefore think of the RKD databases as a dynamic publication.

New versions of the databases are placed on the website on a monthly basis. That means that new information being added to the database only becomes available after an update.

RKDartists&
RKDartists& is the largest on-line database of artists in the world. The database contains details of ca 360,000 people about whom the RKD possesses sundry forms of documentation. As the name suggests, most of these are artists. But art collectors, dealers and art historians are also incorporated in the database.
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RKDimages
RKDimages is a database with descriptions and images of works of art from the RKD’s image documentation. The database contains ca 85,000 descriptions of works of art.
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RKDportraits
RKDportraits is a database with descriptions and images of Dutch portraits from the portrait iconography collection (Iconografic Bureau) in the RKD image documentation. The database contains ca 57,000 descriptions of portraits.
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RKDlibrary
RKDlibrary is the RKD library’s database and contains ca 150,000 titles.
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RKDcollections&archives
RKDcollections&archives is a database which contains descriptions of the archives and sub-collections of the RKD. The database contains ca 500 descriptions.
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Other RKDdatabases

Libertas Iconclass Browser
With the Iconclass Browser specific Iconclass-codes and examples of their representation can be searched.
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AAT
With the AAT-Nederlandstalig thesaurusterms at specific subjects can be searched (in Dutch).
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Central Register of Design Archives
The CRVa is a database with information about archives of Dutch designers.
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