Year after year, the global public domain is enriched with new works, as they become part of the common heritage. An opportunity for the public to appropriate these creations, to share them, divert them, parody them, transmit them, or even create from this royalty-free material.
Digital technology has given new life to the public domain, ensuring simplified, large-scale dissemination of works, whether literary, visual or audio. But this plethoric aspect also has its downside: the discoverability of heritage elements is sometimes insufficient, keeping invaluable resources hidden.
The Public Domain Reviewsince its creation in 2011, has taken from the public domain, to better highlight certain notable works, because they are striking, avant-garde for their time or aesthetically dazzling.
The journal itself presents a large number of articles, written by specialists, which put works in the public domain and their authors into perspective. The subjects are diverse and varied, and range from a history of family trees to the first androids in history, including representations of reading in postcards or a biography of the Swiss painter Gottfried Mind (1768-1814), the “ Raphael of Cats ».
An infinite museum
In order to extend this investment in the defense and enhancement of the public domain,The Public Domain Review has put online a database of works, the Public Domain Image Archive, a gigantic catalog comprising some 10,000 references.
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-Equipped with a search engine with more or less precise criteria, allowing searches by centuries, authors, styles or themes, the Public Domain Image Archive also promotes a form of strolling through the centuries and aesthetics. The function “ Infinite View», accessible on its home page, unfolds on the screen an infinite museum, a real feast for the curious eye: a click will allow you to find out more about a work seen.
Catalog references can be downloaded free of charge and, in most cases, reused freely. On each page, an insert specifies the copyright status: if the works themselves are all in the public domain, their digitization may have given rise to the addition of additional rights by the responsible institution.
The Public Domain Image Archive is accessible at this address.
Photo: Public Domain Image Archive
By Antoine Oury
Contact : [email protected]
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