There are various possible ways to access individual exhibits in the virtual exhibition “Faces of the Deutsches Kunstarchiv”.
The tabs
The tab “50 Jahre DKA” (50 Years of the DKA) guides you to a brief introduction to the Deutsche Kunstarchiv, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2014.
The “Ausstellung” (Exhibition) tab has a short introduction to the online exhibition. From here, “Zu den Exponaten“ (To the exhibits) takes you to an overview of all 460 photographs featured, arranged in alphabetical order by subject name (group photographs are sorted according to whichever group member’s name comes first in the alphabet).
Under “Themen” (Themes), the photographs are grouped in twelve headings: Einzelportraits (portraits) – Im Privaten (private life) – Am Schreibtisch (at the writing desk) – Familienbilder (family photographs) – Paare (couples) – Akademie und Lehre (academy and teaching) – Im Atelier (in the studio) – Ausstellungen (exhibitions) – Freundschaftsbilder (friends) – Feste und Geselligkeit (celebrations and artists in company) – Im Freien und auf Reisen (travel and the great outdoors) – Im Krieg (war). Clicking on the thumbnail portrait representing each theme opens a short introduction to all the photographs grouped under it. “Zu den Exponaten” takes you to the themed photographs themselves.
Under “Personen” (People), sorted alphabetically, are short biographies of all the people featured in the exhibition. These may be photographers, their subjects, or family members of either. Not all of them have an image.
In addition, there are two search options: a full-text search under “Suche” (Search) or a “Detailsuche” (Advanced search), where specified fields in the Archive’s databank may be searched.
The individual portrait
Clicking on the thumbnail of any portrait will bring up its own webpage, where it is displayed with details of the photographer; the place, year, photographic technique and size, and the inventory portfolio to which it belongs. There is a short description of the photograph and of the other material held in the portfolio. Below the portrait is the name of the subject and, if applicable, the copyright holder. The arrows “vor” (forwards) and “zurück” (back) allow you to navigate through the individual portraits within a chapter. There are also links to the “Themen” (Themes) menu, to overviews (Bestandsübersichten) of the Deutsches Kunstarchiv catalogue, and to the personal database records for the photographer and the portrait subject (indicated by lighter text). Clicking on the picture opens a close-up view with a zoom function.
The personal database record
The personal database record for each individual in the exhibition gives information on dates of birth and death, profession, and family members, together with a brief biography. To the left there may be thumbnail pictures either of photographs taken by the person in question, or in which he or she is portrayed. Clicking on a picture will take you to its own webpage. Clearly marked identifiers for Linked Open Data lead to external portals where further information about a featured person can be found.