ArtLex contains over 3,300 defined terms. The entries define styles, periods of art, materials used in art, and prevalent themes or frequently depicted items, like angels. Most entries contain illustrations and links to other related definitions within the lexicon, as well as hyperlinks to additional Internet sites that provide more information on the defined topic. Every illustration included in ArtLex is linked to a larger thumbnail of the illustration. In addition, each hyperlink that takes a user to another site outside ArtLex opens up a new browser window, making it easy for users to return to ArtLex without losing their place. Unfortunately, the dictionary does not yet contain entries for artists, works of art, or major cities influential to the development of art. Although these groups of terms are not included as defined entries, they are mentioned and pictured in relevant entries. Delahunt plans to, some day, include these terms as entries in themselves, but states that “this project had to start within some boundaries.”
ArtLex does not contain an internal search engine; instead, users may find entries by clicking on the appropriate span of letters arranged in alphabetical order. Some of the longer articles also have direct links to them at the end of the list. These articles also appear in alphabetical order under their initial letter, but only as a hyperlink to the larger article. ArtLex entries are also searchable at the OneLook Dictionaries site at http://www.onelook.com/ This site finds definitions contained in its collection of over 200 dictionaries. There are problems with this service, however. There is no way to limit a search to look only through ArtLex; a search performed can be limited only to special subjects, general words, and spelling dictionaries. A second problem is that it searches only for the basic entry word, not any words within entries. This is a problem if an item is known by two names, or if users are looking for information on a work of art or an artist that may appear within an entry. The OneLook Dictionaries site does not provide additional service to users who could look up an entry alphabetically in ArtLex themselves ‐ it is only useful for searching multiple dictionaries at once.
Composed of two frames, ArtLex has a simple design. A small column to the left contains links to pages of entries, as well as the direct links to longer definitions within the lexicon. The larger frame displays the definitions. A mirror site has been developed for browsers which cannot accommodate frames; this site has one frame that contains both the links and the definitions. The advertisements on ArtLex are few and include links such as Barnes & Noble Bookstore Online. The author states that advertisements were necessary to cover costs, and that purchases on Barnes & Noble from ArtLex links generate revenue for the site. More distracting than the advertisements, though, are the backgrounds. There are a variety of backgrounds used throughout the site, and they appear to be almost randomly assigned to pages. Different colors do not designate different letters of the alphabet. Some of the patterns and dark colors make entries hard to read. There are several exceptions, though, in which the background is illustrative of the definition itself. For example, the background for “marble” appears to be made of marble, giving users an idea of what the material looks like.
Many of the definitions in ArtLex are very short, even for those articles that are considered significant enough to have their own link. For example, the definition for the term “Baroque” is only three sentences long, but there are many illustrations given as well as many links to additional images, making the definition long enough to earn its own link.
Because ArtLex contains so few entries, users may find themselves better off consulting a more traditional art dictionary like The Oxford Dictionary of Art or Grove’s Dictionary of Art. The addition of entries for artists and their masterpieces would make the site more useful. Because it is available at no cost, though, and with its internal links and illustrations as another positive feature, I would recommend this site for most users as a supplemental resource.
