The Allgemeines Künstlerlexikon follows on from its predecessors, the standard art history works Thieme-Becker (published in 37 volumes from 1907 to 1950) and Vollmer (6 volumes, 1953--1962), and has been published in printed form by K. G. Saur Verlag since 1991. Indexes by country and artistic occupation follow each ten volumes. The index editions, published long before the AKL is complete and covering the entire list of artists included, are of special value. The CD-ROM edition and online editions are attractive alternatives, offering a wide range of search possiblities. The data from the Allgemeines Künstlerlexikon can be purchased separately for integration in internal databases as authority files of artist's names. The Künstlerlexikon der Antike (Lexicon of Classical Artists) is a useful supplement, including, for the first time, all artists of ancient times known by name.
The Allgemeines Künstlerlexikon (AKL) is the most extensive, up-to-date and authoritative art-history reference work. Artists from all over the globe and throughout the ages from antiquity to the present are recorded in this major encyclopaedia. It contains not only painters, sculptors, and architects, but gives equal weighting to sculptors in marble, restorers, and calligraphers, or craftsmen, to name but a few of the many hundreds of artistic professions found in the AKL. For each volume around 3,000 artist biographies are compiled and four or five volumes are published each year.
Every entry offers the following clearly structured information: - Names of the artist, including all variations of the names by which he or she was known, pseudonyms, maiden names, or names previously wrongly-attributed are deciphered - Dates of birth and death of the artist and distinguishing art historical characteristics - Information regarding the influence of this artist on his or her cultural environment - A selection of the artist's works with their locations - A selection of exhibitions on the artist - Detailed lists of the artist's autobiographical and other writings - An extensive bibliography including references to other reference works, unprinted sources and catalogues - A signatory which refers to the name of the author (respectively, the editor) at the end of every entry
Indexes of editors, authors, and the lexicon's international advisory board, instructions for the user, and various indexes of abbreviations are included at the front of each volume.
The Allgemeines Künstlerlexikon is the standard work on art history for scholars, students, librarians, gallery owners, auctioneers, collectors and for all those interested in the world of art.
The first volumes of the AKL were compiled from 1969 on. This period of almost four decades will now be covered in supplements, the first of which, Ergänzungsband I, containing supplementary articles for the letter "A", was published in 2005. Ergänzungsband II (Buchstabe B) erscheint Ende 2007.
