Named after the small red sticker that once guided scholars through legacy 35mm slides, The Red Dot is here to help you navigate the ever-evolving landscape of visual and material research. While rooted in the University of California, Santa Barbara community, our posts are open to all.
At MIRL, we engage with art history, digital humanities, and material culture through hands-on research and archival projects. Guided by our core principles—critical engagement with visual and material culture, ethical stewardship of images and data, and innovative approaches to research and pedagogy—we work at the intersection of technology and the humanities. We are especially interested in how digital tools can expand the study of images, objects, and spaces.
Here, we’ll share insights on Digital Art History and Architectural History, highlight new image and data resources, discuss copyright and ethical considerations, and spotlight events that shape our field.
The Red Dot © 2025 is licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0
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Pre-Revolutionary photographs of Moscow now on Flickr
If you are interested in early 20th century Moscow, there is a collection of historic photographs recently posted on Flickr. These previously unpublished photographs were taken by the poster’s great grandfather while on a trip to the Russian city in 1909. The images are a part of cranewoods.com’s photostream and can be viewed by everyone;… Read more
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Single web portal launched for recovery of Nazi-looted art
An agreement was signed today by several organizations devoted to the research and recovery of art and artifacts looted by the Nazis. Records and documents will be available via a single web portal, providing access to the National Archives of the United Kingdom, the US National Archives and Records Administration, Germany’s Bundesarchiv, and the Commission… Read more
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ARTstor’s newest features and tools
ARTstor updated its Digital Library to include three new features: Choose number of results you see per page: 24, 48, or 72 (this works for both small and large thumbnail viewing) Add a description your image groups (which, when created, appears to the right of your image group list in the “Open an image group”… Read more
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Ara Pacis Augustae in pictures and words
Charles S. Rhyne, Professor Emeritus of Art History at Reed College, has created a new website dedicated to the visual and historiographical study of the ancient Roman monument Ara Pacis Augustae. In his preface, Professor Rhyne explains that the site’s objective is “to make available a more comprehensive body of images of the Ara Pacis… Read more
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Picturing the Netherlandish Canon
The Courtauld Institute of Art has launched a website that reproduces 68 portraits of Netherlandish artists printed in Hendrick Hondius the Elder’s Pictorum aliquot celebrium, præcipué Germaniæ Inferioris, effiges (The Hague, 1610; edition from the British Library). These high quality images are accompanied by translations of the Latin texts and analytical essays by leading scholars. Read more
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Art History Graduate Student Symposium: April 29-30, 2011
Join us for the 36th Annual Art History Graduate Student Symposium: “Moralities in the Visual Arts”. The symposium kicks off Friday with a 4:00 pm keynote address in Theater and Dance Room 1701 by Richard Dyer (Professor of Film Studies, King’s College, London). Saturday’s panels are in Life Sciences 1001 and conclude with a keynote… Read more