Artist's Knowledge and Reading Habits in 19th Century Rome. The Library of the German Artists in Rome and its Epistemological Context.

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Michael Thimann
• Subject Area: Art History
• Term: from 2014 to 2019
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 266381658

Since May 2015, the research project has focused on examining the Bibliothek des deutschen Künstlervereins and evaluating it from the standpoint of the history of knowledge. The library has been located in the Casa di Goethe in Rome since September 2012 and was assembled in around 1900 from the individual holdings of three historical libraries in Rome. Today, the library still contains around 4,500 books (of the original approximately 9,850), along with comprehensive archival documentation including accession books, catalogues and loan ledgers, and is currently being examined in light of its potential to serve as a first-rate source for German-Roman art history in the 19th century. The goal of the project is, firstly, to reconstruct all the art libraries that existed in 19th century Rome in the form of an OPAC based on the central library system of the German Common Library Network (GBV), including all provenances and usages, and secondly, to reappraise these libraries, which were assembled specifically to meet the needs of German artists working in Rome, in the form of a monograph written from the perspective of art history, library history, and the history of knowledge. Because the transmission situation of the libraries and the sources available in Rome is unique, new standards could be set in the course of the project for research into the knowledge possessed by artists and the training they received. Beginning with the founding of the Bibliothek der Deutschen on the Capitoline Hill in 1821, the three art libraries are central monuments to the intellectual life of the German colony in Rome. By making these holdings available in the form of an online catalogue that offers flexible search options and remains open to queries from future users, the project will make this comprehensive source available for questions regarding the history of art and advanced researched into the lives of artists. This research will enable the first quantitatively reliable conclusions to be drawn about the reading habits of German artists in Rome, the organisation of intellectual life in the German artists’ republic and the transfer of philosophical and theoretical ideas. A full reconstruction of all the book holdings that were formerly available is possible thanks to the favourable situation with regard to sources. Furthermore, thanks to the fact that the provenances can be recreated in many cases, it will be possible to obtain important information about the individual book holdings and reading habits of artists and patrons in 19th century Rome. The scholarly monograph will examine these types of research problems in the form of case studies and publish the most important documents as sources.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• International Connection: Italy
• Cooperation Partners: Ulf Dingerdissen; Dr. Maria Gazzetti