Project
The e-Ilustrace portal is a virtual research platform dedicated to the study of book illustrations from the earliest printed works produced in the Czech Lands. It combines an extensive online database with advanced digital tools for the exploration and analysis of visual materials.
For the first time, the database provides access to over 6,000 high-quality images printed from 2,500 unique woodcut blocks. This comprehensive collection represents the corpus of visual materials from Bohemian book production, documented in the National Retrospective Bibliography (Knihopis, BCBT), covering publications up to the mid-16th century. Each record includes detailed bibliographic and iconographic metadata alongside high-resolution images. The materials are systematically indexed using the ICONCLASS classification system and enriched with subject-specific and genre-based keywords in Czech.
The portal provides unique opportunities for researchers to study book illustration. Thanks to the implementation of the VISE software, researchers will for the first time be able to trace the use, reuse and adaptation of woodcuts in the extensive collection of Czech printed materials from the 15th and 16th centuries. The platform also includes a tool for creating digital exhibitions, designed to support educational initiatives and encourage the wider public to explore early printed images.
The portal was developed as part of a pioneering pilot TAČR TL05000157 project led by the Library of the Czech Academy of Sciences, in collaboration with the National Library of the Czech Republic, the software development company inQool, and the Visual Geometry Group at the University of Oxford.