Archives and Collections
Photographic Laboratory
The photographic laboratory consists of two main components: the image collection and the slide collection.
The image collection comprises around 50,000 reproductions of artworks ranging from Early Christianity to the 20th century. It is only roughly organized by content and has not yet been fully catalogued. The majority of the collection originates from the Archive of the Archdiocese of Salzburg. Only after a complete inventory will it be possible to assess to what extent the collection represents a document of collecting practices—that is, of the history of art history itself—and to what extent it may be used in teaching, either as visual study material or as a source for the discipline’s historiography.
The slide collection consists of 51 slide cabinets with capacities ranging between 4,000 and 12,000 slides, as well as slide projectors, viewing devices, and a computer workstation for administrative purposes and slide labeling. The slides are organized by periods, genres, and artists; immovable monuments and architectural works are arranged, where possible, by artist, otherwise topographically. An additional section of the collection is sorted according to iconographic motifs. Each slide is labeled accordingly.
The photographic laboratory is currently closed.
Hans Sedlmayr Collection
This collection comprises offprints addressed to Hans Sedlmayr, many of which include personal dedications from the respective authors. The materials are organized across four cabinets according to thematic areas such as Egyptology, Judaica, History, Aesthetics, Monument Preservation, and Museums, as well as by chronological periods ranging from Antiquity to the 20th century and by geographical regions.
The estate has been fully catalogued, and the dedications have been transcribed within the inventory list. More extensive dedications have also been digitally scanned. In addition, the collection includes a selection of books from Hans Sedlmayr’s personal library.
The inventory lists of the drawers containing the offprints and the boxes containing the books have been digitized. To gain access to the scans of the dedications, please contact the department’s administrative office.
Prometheus: Digital Image Database
Since 2003, the Department of Art History has been developing and expanding a digital image database that serves both research purposes and the management of digitized slides. Currently, around 729,800 image records are catalogued.
A key component of this initiative is the cooperation with “Prometheus – The Distributed Digital Image Archive for Research and Teaching”, which includes approximately 200,000 image records from Salzburg. The Prometheus network currently draws on 59 contributing databases, among them our own database “ArtPLUS.” Within this network, Salzburg represents the only Austrian contributor.
At the computer workstations of the Departmental Library of Art History, users have free access to the Prometheus platform. In addition, students can obtain a personal account to use the service from home.
To assist with creating or renewing a Prometheus account, a user guide (ger) is available.
Contact person: Hubert Auer
Tel.: +43 (0) 662 / 8044-4612
