Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History

• World Regions

  All regions

  Select a region

  • North America
  • Europe
  • Central and North Asia
  • East Asia
  • Central America
  • South America
  • Africa
  • West Asia
  • Oceania
  • South and Southeast Asia

  Select a time period

  • 8000–2000 B.C.
  • 2000–1000 B.C.
  • 1000 B.C.–1 A.D.
  • 1–500 A.D.
  • 500–1000 A.D.
  • 1000–1400 A.D.
  • 1400–1600 A.D.
  • 1600–1800 A.D.
  • 1800–1900 A.D.
  • 1900 A.D.–Present
• Timelines

  by Time Period 8,000–2,000 b.c. 2,000–1,000 b.c. 1,000 b.c.–1 a.d. 1–500 a.d. 500–1,000 a.d. 1,000–1400 a.d. 1400–1600 a.d. 1600–1800 a.d. 1800–1900 a.d. 1900 a.d.–present

  by Geographical Region Africa   Central America   Central and North Asia   East Asia   Europe   North America   Oceania   South America   South and Southeast Asia  West Asia

• Thematic Essays
  • Recent Additions  |  All Thematic Essays
  • 
    Select a Thematic Category African Art American Art Ancient Near Eastern Art Art of the Americas Asian Art Byzantine Art Egyptian Art European Art Greek and Roman Art Islamic Art Medieval Art Modern and Contemporary Art Oceanic/Pacific Art Prehistory Select a Department American Decorative Arts American Paintings and Sculpture Ancient Near Eastern Art Arms and Armor Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas Asian Art The Costume Institute Drawings and Prints Education Egyptian Art European Paintings European Sculpture and Decorative Arts Greek and Roman Art Islamic Art The Libraries Medieval Art and The Cloisters Musical Instruments Nineteenth-Century, Modern, and Contemporary Art Objects Conservation Paintings Conservation Paper Conservation Photographs Robert Lehman Collection Scientific Research Textile Conservation

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  • Select a Geographical Region Africa Central America Central and North Asia East Asia Europe North America Oceania South America South and Southeast Asia West Asia All Geographical Regions Select a Time Period 20,000–8000 B.C. 8000–2000 B.C. 2000–1000 B.C. 1000 B.C.–1 A.D. 1–500 A.D. 500–1000 A.D. 1000–1400 A.D. 1400–1600 A.D. 1600–1800 A.D. 1800–1900 A.D. 1900 A.D.–Present All Time Periods
    
• Works of Art
  Recent Additions
  
  

  Title Description
  Artist
  Material and Technique
  Credit Line
  Accession Number

• Index

  Artist (A–Z) | All Artists

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  • Q
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  Subject (A–Z)

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About the Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History

Introduction
The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History is funded by the Heilbrunn Foundation, New Tamarind Foundation, and Zodiac Fund. The Timeline of Art History presents the Met’s collection via a chronological, geographical, and thematic exploration of global art history. Targeted at students and scholars of art history, it is an invaluable reference, research, and teaching tool. Authored by the Met’s experts—predominantly made up of curators but also of conservators, scientists, and educators—the Timeline comprises 300 timelines, 930 essays, close to 7,000 objects, and a robust index, and is regularly updated and enriched to provide new scholarship and insights on the collection.

World Maps. World Maps, and accompanying regional maps, are used to navigate to different regions of the world within a selected time period or geographical region.

Timelines. Timelines provide a linear outline of art history, and allow visitors to compare and contrast art from around the globe at any time in history. There are 300 timelines in total, and each includes representative works of art from the Museum's collection, a chart of time periods, a historical overview, a list of key events, and related content.

Thematic Essays. Thematic essays focus on specific themes in art history, including artistic movements and periods, archaeological sites, empires and civilizations, recurrent themes and concepts, media, and artists. There are 900 thematic essays, and each includes links to related themes and timelines and often demonstrates the cross-fertilization of civilizations.

Works of Art. The works of art in the Metropolitan's collection celebrate human creativity from around the world and from all eras. The Timeline places more than 6000 works in a comprehensive chronological, geographical, and thematic context. Each image can be enlarged for closer scrutiny and is accompanied by supporting material, including when available, links to technical glossaries on CAMEO and artist biographies from Oxford Art Online.

Indexes. The Timeline is indexed by chronology, geography, theme, and subject. Links to world regions, timelines, thematic essays, works of art, and the general index provide methods for more directed research.