How it works

As the search is indexed, the pertinence and relevance of the results are related to a linguistic principle. Once the inputs have been typed in, OAI will perform the search amongst the images’ details and present you with a list of images that match your searched terms. It is therefore important to choose your input words carefully.
The search is case insensitive e.g. Monet == monet
Auto-correct is not available, so please check the spelling carefully.

English is the main language used, but all other major languages are supported as well.
When you search in English, the search engine will automatically make a search of the same word(s) in the other languages.
When you make a search in languages other than English, the search engine will not automatically make a search in the other languages.

High Resolution Images You can view and download the original image file in the highest resolution following the large view & download link.
Detailed Information Information such as title, artist, date, medium, technique, source, current location, credit and license are provided for each image. You can view all the details following the link View all details.
Sources OAI displays the sources of all images and provides a link to them. Check it out and discover which artworks can be found near you!
Licenses OAI presents users with both public domain and copyright protected images of artworks. All the images have policies that allow their reuse, but they may require attribution or to be distributed under the same license as the original. The legal status of each image is displayed next to the image and a link to its official description page is provided. Please do read it before downloading, sharing or reusing the image!

1. Simple words
Every word is received as a single concept, so there is no need for connectives and prepositions. Stemming* is enabled.
e.g. vase of flowers == vase flowers
2. Specific title, phrase or word
If you are looking for a specific title, phrase or word we recommend the use of the quotation symbols ““. Stemming* is not enabled.
e.g. “flower” ≠ “flowers”
If you type "vase of flowers" the search will only include exact matches. vs vase flowers would offer a wider search.
3. Combination of simple and specific words
It is possible to make a search combining simple and specific words.
e.g. flower +“ink”

* In search terminology, support for stemming means that a search for "swim" will also include "swimming" and "swimmed", but not "swam"

Number of results You can choose how many images you want to have displayed on screen.
Min-resolution You can narrow the search by choosing a minimum resolution value of images. The default minimum resolution value is 200KB but it is possible to change it before launching the search according to your needs.
Start index When you make your search, you can choose at which number image you want your results to start. This may be helpful when you make searches that have a lot of results.
Search and Filter Tips - click to view

Click on the Modify on Wikimedia link - which you’ll find next to every image - to edit the image’s details directly on the Wikimedia page.
The editing should be visible immediately after in the search results, since updates to the search index are made in near real time.
However, it’s important to remember that users are responsible for the changes they make!

If you wish to add new images, please follow this link (log-in to Wikimedia required).
If you are a GLAM entity and you wish to upload your digital content through Wikimedia Commons, please follow this link.
If the methods above don't match your needs, you can find other ways to upload images here.

If after having followed one of the methods above your uploads don’t show in the ‘results’ pages, write to us at contact@openartimages.com.

Please write to us at contact@openartimages.com and provide us with the link to the image’s Wikimedia page.

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