Artist Data Model

Linked Open Exhibition

A unified data model for artists aligned with CIDOC CRM, Wikibase4Research, and Wikidata standards
Published

June 4, 2026 00:00

Overview

This data model provides a standardized schema for describing artists and their biographical information within the Linked Open Exhibition ecosystem. It is aligned with three major sector standards:

  • CIDOC CRM (Conceptual Reference Model) v7.1.3
  • Wikibase4Research (WB4R) - NFDI4Culture platform
  • Wikidata - WikiProject Exhibitions

Quick Reference: Schema Mappings

Field Wikidata CIDOC CRM Wikibase4Research
Entity P31:Q5 (instance of human) E21_Person wgm:human (Q5)
Given Name P735 P1_is_identified_by (E82_Appellation) wgm:title (P4)
Family Name P734 P1_is_identified_by (E82_Appellation) wgm:title (P4)
Profession P106 P2_has_type (E55_Type) wgm:classified_as (P97)
Birth Date P569 P82_at_some_time_within (E52_Time-Span) wgm:date (P12)
Death Date P570 P82_at_some_time_within (E52_Time-Span) wgm:date (P12)
Nationality P27 P2_has_type (E55_Type_Nationality) wgm:classified_as (P97)
Reference Q-identifier P1_is_identified_by (E42_Identifier) wgm:internal_id (P96)
Commons Category P373 P87_is_identified_by (E39_Actor) wgm:gnd (P102) / wgm:getty_ulan (P100)

Example: Max Ernst (Q108968)

Name: Max Ernst
Given Name: Max
Family Name: Ernst
Profession: Painter, Sculptor, Artist (Surrealist movement)
Date of Birth: 1891
Date of Death: 1976
Nationality: German (later naturalized French and American)
Reference: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q108968

Data Structure

1. Entity Type

Field Value
German Label Entität
English Label Entity
Description The item itself is classified as a human
Data Type Item

Schema Mappings

Standard Property Description
Wikidata P31:Q5 Instance of human
CIDOC CRM E21_Person Defines the entity as a person
WB4R wgm:human (Q5) / wgm:instance_of (P1) Human classification in Wikibase4Research

2. Given Name

Field Value
German Label Vorname
English Label Given name
Wikidata Property P735 (given name)
Data Type Item (reference to name item)
URI https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Property:P735

Schema Mappings

Standard Property Description
Wikidata P735 Given name (recommended for exhibitions)
CIDOC CRM P1_is_identified_by (E82_Appellation) Identifies the person through naming
WB4R wgm:title (P4) or wgm:classified_as (P97) Name classification in WB4R

3. Family Name

Field Value
German Label Nachname
English Label Family name
Wikidata Property P734 (family name)
Data Type Item (reference to name item)
URI https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Property:P734

Schema Mappings

Standard Property Description
Wikidata P734 Family name (recommended for exhibitions)
CIDOC CRM P1_is_identified_by (E82_Appellation) Identifies the person through family name
WB4R wgm:title (P4) or wgm:classified_as (P97) Name classification in WB4R

4. Profession / Occupation

Field Value
German Label Beruf
English Label Profession
Wikidata Property P106 (occupation)
Data Type Item (reference to occupation type)
URI https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Property:P106

Schema Mappings

Standard Property Description
Wikidata P106 Occupation (use specific art/exhibition roles)
CIDOC CRM P2_has_type (E55_Type) Types applied to the person
WB4R wgm:classified_as (P97) Classification of professional role

Examples

  • Painter (Q3391743)
  • Sculptor (Q729)
  • Photographer (Q33231)
  • Architect (Q42973)
  • Musician (Q639669)

5. Date of Birth

Field Value
German Label Geburtsdatum
English Label Birth
Wikidata Property P569 (date of birth)
Data Type Date
Format YYYY-MM-DD or YYYY
URI https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Property:P569

Schema Mappings

Standard Property Description
Wikidata P569 Date of birth (format: YYYY-MM-DD or YYYY)
CIDOC CRM P82_at_some_time_within (E52_Time-Span) Time-span for birth event
WB4R wgm:date (P12) via Birth Event or wgm:start_date (P10) Event-based approach

6. Date of Death

Field Value
German Label Sterbedatum
English Label Death
Wikidata Property P570 (date of death)
Data Type Date
Format YYYY-MM-DD or YYYY
URI https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Property:P570

Schema Mappings

Standard Property Description
Wikidata P570 Date of death (format: YYYY-MM-DD or YYYY)
CIDOC CRM P82_at_some_time_within (E52_Time-Span) Time-span for death event
WB4R wgm:date (P12) via Death Event or wgm:end_date (P11) Event-based approach

7. Nationality / Citizenship

Field Value
German Label Nationalität
English Label Nationality
Wikidata Property P27 (citizenship)
Data Type Item (reference to country)
URI https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Property:P27

Schema Mappings

Standard Property Description
Wikidata P27 Citizenship (link to country item)
CIDOC CRM P2_has_type (E55_Type_Nationality) Nationality as type
WB4R wgm:classified_as (P97) with place reference Classification with location context

Examples

  • Germany (Q183)
  • France (Q142)
  • Italy (Q38)
  • United States (Q30)

8. Reference / Identifier

Field Value
German Label Referenz
English Label Reference
Data Type URI / Identifier
Format Wikidata Q-identifier or external authority file

Schema Mappings

Standard Property Description
Wikidata Q-identifiers Use Q-identifiers; also add P227 (GND) and P245 (Getty ULAN)
CIDOC CRM P1_is_identified_by (E42_Identifier) Unique identifier for the person
WB4R wgm:internal_id (P96) or wgm:gnd (P102) / wgm:getty_ulan (P100) Authority file references

Authority File Properties

  • GND (German National Library): P227
  • Getty ULAN (Union List of Artist Names): P245
  • Europeana ID: P380
  • ISNI: P213
  • VIAF: P214

9. Commons Category

Field Value
German Label Commons category
English Label Commons category
Wikidata Property P373 (search name)
Data Type String
URI https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Property:P373

Schema Mappings

Standard Property Description
Wikidata P373 Commons category (for related media/images)
CIDOC CRM Referenced via E78_Curated Holding Media representation
WB4R wgm:external_link (P57) External resource linking

Purpose

Link to Wikimedia Commons categories containing images, documents, or other media representations of the artist.

Best Practices

When Creating Artist Records:

  1. Always include: Q-identifier (Wikidata link) for interoperability
  2. Use controlled vocabularies for professions and nationalities
  3. Specify date precision: Use YYYY if only year is known, YYYY-MM-DD if full date available
  4. Cross-reference authority files: Include P227 (GND) and P245 (Getty ULAN) identifiers when available
  5. Link to Commons: Provide P373 references to media collections
  6. Use consistent naming: Follow “Given Name” + “Family Name” convention

For Exhibition Context:

  • Use WikiProject Exhibitions properties to link artists to exhibitions (P1690: related work)
  • For performing artists: Reference WikiProject Performing arts guidelines
  • For visual artists: Reference WikiProject Visual arts guidelines
  • Ensure all date formats are ISO 8601 (YYYY-MM-DD) for data interoperability

Contact & Contributions

For updates to this data model or suggestions for improvement, please contact the NFDI4Culture Linked Open Exhibition project team or contribute via GitHub.

Attribution

This data model documentation was created with assistance from GitHub Copilot (powered by Claude Haiku 4.5). The model was aligned against sector standards including CIDOC CRM v7.1.3, Wikibase4Research, and Wikidata WikiProject Exhibitions guidelines through AI-assisted analysis and formatting.