New online tool “DoME – Database of Modern Exhibitions, 1905-1915”

https://exhibitions.univie.ac.at/

This open-access database enables detailed researches into info extracted from exhibition catalogues. It covers as comprehensively as possible the European Continent for the years between 1905 and 1915 – a crucial moment in the history of Avant-gardes. Currently the dataset includes around 1.000 exhibitions and 150.000 artworks (only paintings and drawings, no sculptures, prints, etc.) from over 11.800 artists. DoME offers different visualization tools, including charts and geographical maps and multiple filters. Raw data and visualizations can be downloaded in different formats. Individual searches can be saved.

The database results from the research project “Exhibitions of Modern European Painting 1905-1915”, funded by the Austrian Science Fund (FWF) and located at the Department of Art History of the University of Vienna (PI: Prof. Raphael Rosenberg). The project aims to outline

a) the geography and networks of modern painting: Where (in which cities, in which institutions), when, and with whom did artists exhibit?

b) The chronology and geography of exhibiting new forms and propagating “isms”: Which kinds of paintings were exhibited when and where?

c) The exhibiting strategies of modern painters: How did artists choose the works to present in which exhibitions? Did they pursue specific policies to make themselves publicly known?

d) The discourses around modern art exhibitions: How did exhibitions (and their catalogues) interact with art criticism?

Beyond our direct scope of research, we hope that DoME will be a research tool for multifold purposes, such as research on lesser-known artists, on specific art works and their provenance, on the role of specific institutions and/or cities for modern art.

At present, the database is a live-BETA-version. It still lacks part of the data that we hope to add within the next months, it does not yet perform all the functionalities, and some bugs may still occur. We nevertheless want to share the access and invite all to venture into this novel research tool.