In 2014, at the Kupferstichkabinett (Museum of Prints and Drawings) of the Staatliche Kunsthalle Karlsruhe, Georg Kabierske, an intern, made a spectacular discovery: two large-format albums containing 297 drawings, previously thought to be the work of the Karlsruhe architect Friedrich Weinbrenner, were identified as the work of the eighteenth century Italian Classical archaeologist, architect, artist, and renowned printmaker Giovanni Battista Piranesi and his studio. In an interdisciplinary research project that lasted several years, the albums were examined from the point of view of art techniques and art history. The research database and platform of the project presents the extensive findings in a variety of ways and makes them experienceable and accessible to researchers, students, and the general public.
- Project Partners
Ever since the Karlsruhe Piranesi albums were first identified in the summer of 2014, numerous research visits, lectures, consultations, colloquium participations, as well as the implementation of the project resulted in extremely rich exchanges with literally countless colleagues far beyond the borders of Karlsruhe, Mendrisio, and Stuttgart; at this point we would like to extend our sincere thanks to all of them: Adriano Aymonino (Buckingham), Liliana Barroero (Rome), Laura Barzaghi (Milan), Judith Becker (Ateliergemeinschaft Becker, Schrempf, Schrade, Esslingen am Neckar), Barry Bergdoll (New York), Helen Bowron (London), Cammy Brothers (Boston), Hubert Burda (Munich), Howard Burns (Lugano), Jean Louis Cohen (New York), Elisa Debenedetti (Rome), Marie-Anne Dupuy-Vachey (Paris), Cara Dufour Denison (New York), Caroline van Eck (Cambridge), Jörg Garms (Vienna), Carlo Gasparri (Naples), Silvia Gavuzzo-Stewart (Rome), Aude Gobet (Paris), Martin Hoernes (Berlin), Heather Hyde-Minor (Rome), Tom Jenkins (London), Lola Kantor-Kazovsky (Jerusalem), Annette T. Keller (artIMAGING, Potsdam), David Klemm (Hamburg), Thomas Klinke (Wallraf-Richartz-Museum & Fondation Corboud Cologne), Daniel Koerfer (Berlin), Anne-Marie Leander Touati (Stockholm), Ginevra Mariani (Rome), Olivier Masson (Restaurierungsatelier für Kunst auf Papier GmbH, Zurich), Piero Martinoli (Lugano), Carla Mazzarelli (Mendrisio), Robin Middleton (New York), Teresa Montefusco (Rome), Francesco Nevola (Cortona), Carlo Ossola (Turin), Pierluigi Panza (Milan), Susanna Pasquali (Rome), John Pinto (New York), Eleonora Pistis (New York), Andrew Robison (Washington, D.C.), Elisabeth Rochau-Shalem (New York), Serenella Rolfi Ožvald (Rome), Myra Nan Rosenfeld (Toronto), Anne Rossi-Lefèvre (Ortiz Collection, Vandoeuvres), Frank Salmon (Cambridge), Stephan Sattler (Munich), Bill Sherman (London), Salvatore Settis (Pisa), Avinoam Shalem (New York), Timo Strauch (Berlin), Antoine Turner (Mendrisio), Tillmann Viefhaus (ViefhausAnalytik, Stuttgart), Sydney Houghton Weinberg (New York), John Wilton-Ely (Cortona), Angela Windholz (Mendrisio), Carolyn Yerkes (Princeton, NJ), and Albino Zgraggen (Lugano).
Special thanks go — last but not least — to Mario Bevilacqua (Florence), Hugo Chapman (London), Elisabeth Kieven (Rome), John Marciari (New York), and Jane Turner (Amsterdam), both for their continuing interest in the content of the project as well as for their support ever since the two Karlsruhe Piranesi albums were identified in 2014. - Sponsors
Sponsor of the Interdisciplinary Research Project on the Karlsruhe Piranesi Albums
Funding in two phases (2017/18 and 2019/20) by the German Research Foundation (DFG, Project No. 323516160) and the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNF, Project No. 100016E-170303 and 100019E_185525) within the framework of the D-A-CH cooperation between Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.
Further Sponsors
Ministerium für Wissenschaft, Forschung und Kunst Baden-Württemberg
(Ministry of Science, Research and the Arts of Baden-Württemberg)
Hubert Burda Foundation
Dr. Jacques Koerfer Foundation
Badische Beamtenbank (now BBB Bank)
Università della Svizzera italiana (USI; public Swiss university)Digital Storage and Backup of Project Results
Ministerium für Wissenschaft, Forschung und Kunst Baden-Württemberg
(Ministry of Science, Research, and the Arts of Baden-Württemberg)
Ernst von Siemens Art Foundation - Our Grateful Thanks to the Following People:
Staatliche Kunsthalle Karlsruhe
Prof. Dr. Pia Müller-Tamm, Director
Dr. Dorit Schäfer, Head, Kupferstichkabinett (Museum of Prints and Drawings)
Dr. Astrid Reuter, Curator, Kupferstichkabinett (Museum of Prints and Drawings)
Dr. Stefan Morét, scientific project staff member
Maria Krämer M.A., scientific project staff member
Georg Kabierske M.A., scientific project staff member
Barbara Bauer M.A., project memberStaatliche Akademie der Bildenden Künste Stuttgart
(Stuttgart State Academy of Art and Design)Prof. Dr. Irene Brückle, Head of the study programme Conservation and Restoration of Works of Art on Paper, Archives and Library Materials
Università della Svizzera italiana, Institute of the History and Theory of Art and Architecture (ISI) at Mendrisio
Prof. Dr. Christoph Frank, Full professor of art history
Bénédicte Maronnie M.A., research associate - Our Grateful Thanks to the Following Institutions:
For two applications for funding (2017/18 and 2019/20, respectively), the project leaders of the three participating institutions are first and foremost indebted to the German Research Foundation, Bonn (Project No. 323516160) and the Swiss National Science Foundation, Bern (Project Nos. 100016E_170303 and 100019E_185525) for generously funding the project over a period of four years. We would like to thank the staff of both these institutions for their continuous professional and unbureaucratic support, which enabled us to focus and concentrate on our research.
Our sincere thanks also go to the Università della Svizzera italiana, Lugano (for start-up funding from the Rectorate out of special funds), the Italian Academy of Columbia University (New York), the Max Planck Society (Munich), the Ministry of Science, Research, and the Arts of Baden-Württemberg (Stuttgart), the Dr. Hubert Burda Foundation (Munich), and the Dr. Jacques Koerfer Foundation (Berlin). Without the support of all these institutions, this multi-year research project could not have been carried out and brought to a successful conclusion.
The digital storage and backup of the project’s results was predominantly supported by the Ministry of Science, Research, and the Arts of Baden-Württemberg (Stuttgart) and the Ernst von Siemens Art Foundation (Berlin).
Further, we would like to thank the following institutions that accompanied us over longer stretches of the project and generously made their holdings and/or expertise available to us:
Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum, Prints and Drawings
Jane TurnerBerlin, Liebermann-Villa am Wannsee
Alice Cazzola
Lucy WasensteinerBerlin, Stiftung Preußischer Kulturbesitz, Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin, Abteilung Historische Drucke (Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation, Berlin State Library, Department of Historical Prints)
Michaela ScheibeBerlin, Stiftung Preußischer Kulturbesitz, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Kunstbibliothek (Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation, National Museums in Berlin, Art Library)
Elke Blauert
Martin RossbacherBerlin, Stiftung Preußischer Kulturbesitz, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Kupferstichkabinett (Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation, National Museums in Berlin, Museum of Prints and Drawings)
Georg Josef Dietz
Hanka Gerhold
Fabienne Meyer
Dagmar KorbacherBesançon, Bibliothèque municipale, Fonds patrimoniaux et collections (Besançon Public Library, Heritage Holdings and Collections)
Besançon, Musée des Beaux-Arts et d’Archéologie, Art graphique (Museum of Fine Arts and Archaeology, Graphic Art)
Amandine RoyerBoston, MA, Museum of Fine Arts, Prints and Drawings
Edward Saywell
Patrick Murphy
Annette ManickBraunschweig, Herzog Anton-Ulrich Museum, Kupferstichkabinett (Museum of Prints and Drawings)
Thomas Döring
Katia PylenCambridge, MA, Harvard University, Harvard University Art Museums, Prints and Drawings
Joachim HomannCoburg, Kunstsammlungen der Veste Coburg (Veste Coburg Art Collections)
Sven Hauschke
Wolfgang SchwahnDessau, Anhaltische Gemäldegalerie, Graphisches Kabinett (Anhalt Art Gallery, Graphic Collection)
Ruben RebmannDublin, Royal Irish Academy, Library, Charlemont Manuscript Collection
Barbara McCormackFlorence, Uffizi, Gabinetto dei Disegni e delle Stampe (Department of Prints and Drawings of the Uffizi)
Hamburg, Hamburger Kunsthalle, Kupferstichkabinett (Hamburg Art Museum, Department of Prints and Drawings)
David Klemm
Andreas StolzenburgKarlsruhe, Karlsruher Institut für Technologie, Institut für Angewandte Geowissenschaften
Rosa Danisi
Kirsten Drüppel
Laura LenfantKarlsruhe, Karlsruher Institut für Technologie, Südwestdeutsches Archiv für Architektur und Ingenieurbau (SAAI) (Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Southwest German Archive of Architecture and Civil Engineering)
Gerhard KabierskeKassel, Museumslandschaft Hessen-Kassel, Graphische Sammlung (Museum Landscape Hesse–Kassel, Graphic Collection)
Christiane LukatisLondon, British Museum, Department of Greece and Rome
Ian Jenkins
Thorsten OpperLondon, British Museum, Department of Prints and Drawings
Hugo Chapman
Anthony Griffiths
Sarah VowlesLondon, Sir John Soane’s Museum
Bruce Boucher
Lorraine Bryant
Frances Sands
London, Victoria and Albert Museum, Prints and Drawings
Charles Hind
Ella KilgallonLondon, Victoria and Albert Museum, The RIBA Architecture Study Rooms
Milan, Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera (Brera Academy)
Chiara Palandri
Sara Mazzarino
Simone FerraroMarburg, Bildarchiv Foto Marburg (Marburg Image Archive)
Hubert Locher
Christian Bracht
Gabi PahnkeModena, Biblioteca Estense Universitaria (Library)
Nadia de LutioNaples, Museo Nazionale della Certosa di San Martino (National Museum Certosa di San Martino)
New York, Columbia University, Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library, Avery Classics
Hannah Bennett
Teresa Harris
Lena NewmanNew York, Columbia University, Italian Academy
David FreedbergNew York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Drawings and Prints
Allison Rudnick
Marjorie Shelley
Femke Speelberg
Shannon MulshineNew York, The Morgan Library & Museum
Colin B. Bailey
Reba Fishman Snyder
Maria Fredericks
John Marciari
Jennifer Tonkovich
Zoe WatnikNew York, New York University, Institute of Fine Arts
Margaret Holben EllisOxford, Ashmolean Museum, Western Art Print Room
Catherine WhistlerOxford, University of Oxford, Taylor Institution Library, Special Collections
Clare Hills-NovaParis, Bibliothèque nationale de France, Département des Estampes et de la photographie
(Department of Prints and Photography of the National Library of France)
Sylvie Aubenas
Corinne Le BitouzéParis, Institut national d’histoire de l’art, Bibliothèque (National Institute of Art History)
Paris, École nationale supérieure des beaux-arts, Dessins scolaires et dessins de maîtres (National School of Fine Arts, School Drawings and Drawings by Masters)
Emmanuelle BrugerollesParis, Fondation Custodia (Fondation Custodia Art Collection)
Ger Luijten
Peter FuhringParis, Musée du Louvre, Département des Arts Graphiques (The Louvre, Department of Graphic Arts)
Xavier Salmon
Arianne de la Chapelle
Hélène MeyerRome, Istituto Centrale per la Grafica (Central Institute for Graphics)
Giovanna ScaloniRome, Mercati di Traiano-Musei Capitolini (Markets of Trajan Capitoline Museum)
Maria Paola del Moro
Claudio Parisi PresicceSaint Petersburg, State Hermitage Museum, Department of Western European Art
Sergej O. Androsov
Valerij G. ŠevčenkoStockholm, Nationalmuseum, Prints and Drawings
Martin OlinStuttgart, Hauptstaatsarchiv, Landesarchiv Baden-Württemberg (Main State Archives, Archive of the State of Baden-Württemberg)
Erwin Frauenknecht
Peter RückertStuttgart, Staatliche Akademie der Bildenden Künste Stuttgart Studiengang Konservierung und Restaurierung von Kunstwerken auf Papier, Archiv- und Bibliotheksgut (Stuttgart State Academy of Art and Design, Study Programme Conservation and Restoration of Works of Art on Paper, Archives and Library Materials)
Research associate:
Ute HennigesStudents:
Lisa Behrens
Esther Hannemann
Franziska Leidig
Philipp D. Mattausch
Leonie Müller
Miyon Schultka
Philine Venus
Natascha Wichmann
Yvonne WiegandStudiengang Konservierung und Restaurierung Neuer Medien und Digitaler Information (Study Programme Conservation and Restoration of New Media and Digital Information)
Johannes Gfeller
Mario RöhrleLabor für Archäometrie und Kunstwissenschaften (Laboratory of Archaeometry and Arts and Sciences)
Stefanie DietzWerkstatt für Freie Graphik (Radierung) (Workshop for graphic arts (etching))
Thomas RuppelStuttgart, Württembergische Landesbibliothek (State Library of Württemberg)
Christian Herrmann
Luitgard Nuss
Rupert Schaab
Esther SturmTurin, Fondazione Centro Conservazione e Restauro La Venaria Reale (Conservationand Restoration Centre La Venaria Reale)
Tiziana CavaleriVienna, Albertina Museum, Grafische Sammlung (Graphic Art Collection)
Christian Benedik
Achim Gnann
Christof Metzger
Elisabeth ThoboisWashington D.C., National Gallery of Art, Prints and Drawings
Margaret Morgan Grasselli
Kimberly SchenckZurich, Zentralbibliothek, Handschriften, Nachlässe, Archivalien (Manuscripts, Estates, and Archive Materials)
Anett LüttekenIn addition, archives and libraries, whose staff were always professional and generous in providing us with sources and studies — often in digitized form — proved in many respects to be fundamental and direction-setting for this project. Particular mention should be made of the Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library at Columbia University in New York, the archive of the British Museum in London, the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library at Yale University in New Haven, CT, the Biblioteca dell’Accademia di architettura in Mendrisio, the Biblioteca di Archeologia e Storia dell’Arte in Rome, the Biblioteca nazionale centrale in Rome, the Bibliotheca Hertziana of the Max Planck Institute of Art History in Rome, the Bibliothèque nationale de France in Paris, the library of the Getty Research Institute in Los Angeles, CA, the library of the Institut national d’histoire de l’art in Paris, the library of the Warburg Institute in London, the British Library in London (Rare Books und Manuscripts and Archives), the Bodleian Library in Oxford, the Danmarks Kunstbibliotek in Copenhagen, the Frick Art Reference Library in New York, the Harvey S. Firestone Memorial Library in Princeton, NJ, the Houghton Library at Harvard University in Cambridge, MA, the Koninklijke Bibliotheek in The Hague, the Kungliga Biblioteket in Stockholm, the KHI (Kunsthistorisches Institut) in Florence of the Max Planck Society, the National Art Library in London, the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art in London, the Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie in The Hague, the Berlin State Library, the Universitetsbiblioteket in Uppsala, and the Witt Library at the Courtauld Institute of Art in London. Again, our heartfelt thanks and deepest gratitude to all the archivists and librarians who were such a great help to us and yielded new insights, including during the pandemic.
We would also like to thank all the institutional and private collections that provided us with pictorial material free of charge for scholarly processing and publication. Special thanks are due to the Biblioteca Estense Universitaria (Modena), the Department of Prints and Drawings of the British Museum (London), the Hamburger Kunsthalle (Hamburg), the Art Library of the Berlin State Museums (Berlin), the Morgan Library & Museum (New York), and Sir John Soane’s Museum (London).