Bibliotheca Hertziana – Max Planck Institut for Art History
Special Collections
Art and Architecture of the Philippines
This special collection gives access to almost 2,900 photographs documenting Filipino art and architecture from the early modern to contemporary times. The information about the approximately 800 entities is structured, defined, and certified according to the most recent technical standards. The initiative aims to support new research on the rich and diverse cultural heritage of the Philippines. More
Paper Eruptions
The rich historical holdings of old prints, art objects, furniture and archival materials date back to the beginning of Henriette Hertz's collecting activities 140 years ago. Until now, they were known to the public only in isolated cases. The Bibliotheca Hertziana has systematically catalogued this cultural heritage and will gradually publish it online under the heading Special Collections. The Special Collections are spread over almost all departments of the institute. The library primarily holds the collection of rare books (20,000 volumes) as well as numerous archival materials from the history of the institute and the history of art history, as well as artists' archives. The exhibition Paper Eruptions is the first online exhibition from the Special Collections of the Bibliotheca Hertziana’s Library. More
Arte e politica in Italia negli anni Sessata e Settanta
Negli anni Settanta, l’artista Pablo Echaurren fu uno dei protagonisti della controcultura visiva. Come collezionista è riuscito a creare il più importante archivio di documenti della creatività politico-artistica post-68. I fondi raccolgono fanzine, volantini, disegni, manoscritti, fotografie e soprattutto riviste quali A/Traverso, Viola e Oask?!, oggi quasi irreperibili, come anche il lavoro dell’artista degli anni Settanta, in particolare i suoi acquarelli, smalti, quaderni di appunti, disegni e fotografie. Grazie a questo archivio si può comprendere un decennio chiave della storia dell’Italia contemporanea. Grazie alla collaborazione tra la Bibliotheca Hertziana e la Fondazione Echaurren Salaris nell'ambito dell'iniziativa di ricerca Rome Contemporary la collezione digitale è consultabile qui.
Naples – digital annotation
At the Department Cities and Spaces in Premodernity, as part of the Naples Digital Archive project and in cooperation with CIRICE, digitized city maps of Naples. are annotated (using their respective legends) to make them easier to use and read. The representations of Naples created by Du Pérac and Lafréry in 1566, Stinemolen in 1582, Baratta in 1627, and the Duca di Noja in 1775 each produce their own image of Naples, providing information about the structure of the city but also shedding light on the respective historical readings. It is work in progress, but already offers an excellent tool for any kind of study of the history of the urban space of Naples. More
Fototeca Palermitana
Since its foundation, the port city of Palermo has been defined by a nomadic gaze. Thanks to its focal position in the Mediterranean, the city has experienced manifold and mixed flows of populations, from the early Greek, Latin, Jewish, Arab, Norman, Spanish and Peninsular to the more recent African, Middle Eastern and transoceanic ones propelled by global imbalances. In 2018 a major photographic campaign was commissioned by the institute’s Photographic Collection to contribute to the visual documentation of the city. Over 600 professional photographs were produced encompassing art and architecture from the Middle Ages up to the contemporary. More
Focus on Amatrice
The earthquake of 2016 and the subsequent seismic sequence have dramatically changed the face of Amatrice: lives were lost, the urban fabric was disrupted, and endangered monuments were destroyed. Today, Amatrice looks deserted: two towers stand isolated, the last trace of the medieval structure, the symbol of a vanished city now reduced to piles of rubble. With its historical center ravaged by the earthquake and—by now—erased nearly completely by the removal of rubble, Amatrice’s memory is entrusted to photography. But that’s not all: the images also serve as a starting point for future measures of preservation and reconstruction; they are an instrument for documentation and knowledge. More
Art and Architecture of the Philippines
Paper Eruptions
Arte e politica in Italia negli anni Sessata e Settanta