Photography as a Document and Documentation of Cultural Heritage. Securing, recording, and researching the analog photo collection of the Institute of Art History Bonn
The Bonn Art History Institute – one of the oldest in the German-speaking world – houses an extensive, albeit hitherto little-noticed collection of historical photographs, whose origins can be traced back to the institute's beginnings in the 19th century. We currently estimate the holdings at around 100,000 photoprints and book illustrations, each mounted on sheets of cardboard. The photographs document the historical condition of monuments and works of art from all over Europe, with an emphasis on Italy, France, Belgium, and Germany. However, these photographs are not only important for their documentary quality, but they are also valuable testimonies of photographic history. Our collection not only contains numerous prints from renowned studios that were extremely important for the development of photographic art reproduction (such as Alinari, Brogi or Anderson), but also has particularly rare examples from the early days of photography. Particularly valuable for the history of our academic subject are the handwritten annotations with which the cardboard sheets are provided, and which allow remarkable conclusions to be drawn about the state of knowledge and research interests. To this day, this collection has survived in its original order by topography and genre in 466 drawers. What has been lost, however, is the knowledge of the history of the holdings, the provenances, as well as the concrete composition of the collection. Thus, no inventory has survived that gives us precise information about the scope, and only a few acquisitions can be traced through sources.
The main aim of the project is an inventory and partial digitization of this historical collection, as well as the re-evaluation and research of the holdings. In the sense of the concept of research-based learning, the exploration of the photographic holdings is to take place primarily together with students within the framework of academic course.
Leitung: Dr. Hilja Droste, Dr. Gernot Mayer
Beteiligte: Ben Bartz, Rafaela Bermeo Tosi, B.A., Jasmin Roth B.A., Jil Schuch
Laufzeit: seit April 2023
Finanzierung: TRA Present Pasts
Bilddokument - Sammelobjekt - Lehrmaterial: Die Fotografische Reproduktion der "Himmelfahrt Mariens" von Fra Bartolomeo
Eine Fotografie der Villa Acciaiuoli präsentiert von Rafaela Bermeo Tosi
Eine Fotografie der Loggia Rucellai präsentiert von Jasmin Roth
Die Büste des Pierre de Wissant von Auguste Rodin präsentiert von Katja Franck
Die Fotografie einer Christmette im Kölner Dom präsentiert von Jasmin Roth
Eine unheimlich faszinierende Fotografie nach Desiré-Maurice Ferrary präsentiert von Gernot Mayer
Eine Fotografie der Kirche Sint Pieter in Löwen präsentiert von Jasmin Roth
Eine Fotografie von Michelangelos Tondo Doni präsentiert von Axel Schwalm
Eine Ansicht von Rom präsentiert von Georg Satzinger
Die Fotografie "Das Labyrinth von Chartres" präsentiert von Hilja Droste
Fotografie Die romanischen Arkaden der Allerseelenkapelle im Aachener Dom präsentiert von Jasmin Roth
Fotografie der Westfassade des Palazzo dello Strozzino präsentiert von Jasmin Roth
Gespräche zu Fotografie und kunsthistorischer Forschung
Mediengeschichtliche Reflexionen zur Fotosammlung des Kunsthistorischen Instituts
