prometheus is a distributed digital image archive that currently makes more than 4.150.000 images of 136 databases from institutes, research facilities and museums researchable on a common user interface.

Situated at the Institute of Art History of the University of Cologne, prometheus is supported by the non-profit association prometheus e.V. which promotes the ongoing developments of the digital media for science and research.


Image series of the week

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Günther Uecker
Iconic Nail Pictures – Günther Uecker, one of the most renowned artists of the post-war period, became famous for his works featuring nails. | more...


News

New planned features

18 May 2026 | By: Corinna

We are currently planning the next implementations of new features for the image archive.

- “Autocomplete” for search terms: automatically completing your input in the search field as you type, to save time and simplify usage.
- “Faceted Search” as a filtering method: search results can be specifically combined and narrowed down using predefined attributes (facets).
- display “Search History”

- “Multiple File Upload” in own image databases.

- “Pinboard” for questions from the community, for example: “Can anyone help me? I’m looking for a rear view of the Albertus Magnus statue by the artist Gerhard Marcks, which stands in front of the main building of the University of Cologne."

All features will be implemented—the only question is when: Which of the functions should we implement first? What order would you prefer? Please drop us a quick note with your preferred order, either via email or using the feedback form. We look forward to hearing about your preferences.

More: +++ Zoom in on thumbnails +++ Heinrich Pieroth Collection +++ Over 4 million +++ Customize ... +++ Searching the image archive. Simple and more