About the Journal

Aim and Scope

The Belvedere Research Journal (BRJ) is an international, peer-reviewed e-journal with diamond open access, founded in 2022. The thematic and chronological scope of the BRJ draw on the Belvedere collection. We seek articles that shed new light on the visual culture of the former Habsburg Empire and Central Europe broadly defined from the medieval period to the present day. Each issue of the BRJ consist of up to ten articles and provides two different publication options: Research Articles and Discoveries (see Categories below). We are especially interested in the work of authors from outside the institution, who would contribute to a better understanding of the Belvedere collection. All articles appear in an open annual edition immediately after their final acceptance (running from January 1 to December 31). The BRJ does not charge any article processing charges (APC).

The BRJ facilitates the publication of new material, as well as the rethinking of established knowledge. The journal is open to various art historical and theoretical approaches. We especially welcome contributions that situate Austrian art practices within the broader international context to reveal its truly global character. Moreover, we are interested in innovative approaches to art history, such as the decentralization of established narratives or the investigation of transnational transfers that reveal the interconnected and cross-cultural character of the art world. Finally, the BRJ seeks contributions that draw attention to artists and agents whose activities have previously been overlooked, especially women. We support interdisciplinary research that introduces novel theoretical approaches by combining art history with methodologies from other disciplines, such as the digital humanities, social sciences and cultural economics among others.

The BRJ’s aim is to share knowledge among scholars of all nationalities and affiliations and thus contribute to the dissolution of the boundaries between scholarly, curatorial, art professional, and student communities.

Double-Anonymized Peer-Review Process

To preserve rigorous academic standards and ensure high-quality content, the BRJ is committed to a double-anonymized peer-review (also called double-blind peer-review) process, in which both the reviewers and the authors remain unidentified throughout the entire process. Therefore, all manuscripts submitted for consideration must have the author’s name and all other identifying elements removed from the text. Once a manuscript is submitted, the Managing Editor will assess whether our formal and scholarly criteria have been met. If not, the manuscript may be rejected without further revisions. Otherwise, a member of the editorial board based on their expertise shall be entrusted with selecting the reviewers. Each paper shall be reviewed by at least two referees (see Guidelines for Reviewers).

Languages of Publication

We prefer manuscripts in English. However, in individual cases, the BRJ will arrange translation for accepted Research Articles from common Central European languages. All articles receive professional copy-editing.

Open Access Policy

The Belvedere Research Journal is a non-profit e-journal committed to the principles of Open Access. We adhere to the Plan S, the Berlin declaration, as well as the Budapest Open Access Initiative’s (BOAI). We do not charge Author processing charges (APCs) or any charges to readers and institutions for access to the journal. All published content is freely available immediately following its publication without any embargo period. Our policy is rooted in the principle that making research freely available supports global exchange of knowledge.

Authors’ Responsibilities

In order to be published in the BRJ, author(s) of accepted manuscripts must sign a publishing contract with Belvedere. Authors must ensure that the submitted manuscript is their own original work, does not constitute plagiarism and that they hold the rights to allow the BRJ to distribute and continue to make available the article in perpetuity under the license of CC BY 4.0 (see “Authors' Rights and Licensing”). All contributions by other scholars and individuals, as well as previously unpublished material must be acknowledged. The authors also need to ensure that they do not publish fraudulent data. In addition, any financial support associated with the research and any financial and other conflicts of interest must be disclosed.

The BRJ recommends that all authors register an account with the Open Researcher and Contributor Identifier (ORCiD). Registration provides a unique permanent digital identifier that enables accurate attribution and improves the findability of published articles.

Authors’ Rights and Licensing

Authors retain the copyright and full publishing rights without restrictions. They allow the BRJ to distribute and continue to make available the article in perpetuity under the license of Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0), unless otherwise stated. This license allows anyone to download, reuse, re-print, modify, distribute and/or copy the contributions. The works must be properly attributed to its author(s). It is not necessary to ask further permissions both of author(s) or journal board, although you are kindly requested to inform the BRJ for every reuse of the papers. After publication in the BRJ, authors may post their articles to any repositories or websites. The BRJ does not impose any embargo periods on the redistribution of the material. The authors may republish their content, but the BRJ has to be acknowledged in the new publication. Copyright for illustrations and materials other than the text (e.g. videos, timelines, maps) may be held by individuals or institutions other than the BRJ and the author. These do not fall under the Creative Commons License.

Competing Interests

The BRJ is committed to transparent and unbiased research. All authors, reviewers and editors are therefore obliged to indicate any conflicting interests that may compromise or influence the validity of the publication as early as possible. This declaration helps to ensure that scholarly rigor is maintained and that publications cannot be accused of bias or misinformation. A competing interest may arise when you, your employer or your sponsor have financial, commercial, legal, or professional ties with other organizations (or individuals working with them) that could influence your research.

Publishing Ethics

Complaints and appeals should be addressed directly to the Managing Editor, who will address them in accordance with the COPE guidelines. Should misconduct, fraudulent publication or plagiarism be proven, the BRJ will take appropriate measures to amend the article in question and, if necessary, retract its publication.

Indexing

If the BRJ is not indexed by your preferred service, please let us know by emailing journal@belvedere.at. Alternatively, you can make an indexing request directly with the service.

Archiving

The BRJ articles are archived at the Heidelberg University Library and are therefore included in the Art Discovery Group Catalog and the OCLC WorldCat. This step ensures long-term availability of the journal’s content. We also encourage all authors to deposit their articles in institutional or subject-specific repositories, such as Humanities Commons or Academia. To ensure permanency of all publications, this journal also utilizes long-term archiving systems to create permanent archives for the purposes of preservation and restoration.

Contact us

Christian Huemer, PhD

Director Belvedere Research Center

journal@belvedere.at