Five thousand drawings. Decades of research. And a single click – which is now all it takes to access the world’s first digital catalog raisonné of Gustav Klimt’s drawings. With the launch of its online catalog raisonné, the Albertina in Vienna has set a milestone in art studies that will have an impact far beyond Austria’s borders. What once lay dormant only in archives and hard-to-access tomes is now available to researchers, collectors and art enthusiasts around the globe – free of charge, at any time and from any location.
The Klimt online catalog raisonné is no ordinary digitization project. It is the result of a scientific marathon that began back in the 1980s: The art historian Alice Strobl laid the foundation back then by publishing a four-volume print catalog raisonné with Galerie Welz. Marian Bisanz-Prakken continued this pioneering work, initially as a close collaborator of Strobl’s from the 1990s onwards. She was instrumental in the chronological classification of the sheets, most of which were previously undated – a detective-like feat that brought hundreds of individual works into a chronological context for the first time.
Now ALBERTINA chief curator Elisabeth Dutz has taken up the baton and transferred the catalog raisonné to the digital present. The first part to be made available comprises around 1,800 works from Klimt’s creative years up to and including 1903 – a period in which the Viennese Art Nouveau artist developed and refined his unmistakable style. Further groups of works are to follow in stages over the coming years. The Klimt online catalog raisonné will be continuously expanded to include new works and insights.
What the digital format really changes
The decisive difference to the printed catalog lies not only in its accessibility, but also in the networking of knowledge. The Albertina’s online tool interactively links provenances, exhibition histories and bibliographical references – and thus makes connections visible that were simply not possible in the printed format. Anyone following a particular drawing, for example, can now see at a glance which hands the work has passed through, where it has been exhibited and what academic literature accompanies it. There is also a practical advantage for ongoing research: newly identified drawings or current findings can be added immediately. The catalog raisonné is not a closed monument, but a living research instrument.
Three artists, one digital departure
Klimt’s catalog raisonné is only the best-known part of a more comprehensive digital offensive by the Albertina. Two further online catalogs of works were launched in parallel: one for the Viennese artist Florentina Pakosta (born 1933) and one for the Austrian painter and draughtsman Max Weiler (1910-2001). Pakosta’s catalog raisonné, scientifically compiled by Melissa Lumbroso, documents around 3,000 drawings, prints and paintings from more than seven decades of artistic activity digitally for the first time. The thematic organization allows structured access to an oeuvre that is still too little known internationally despite its importance. With Max Weiler, whose more than 1,600 paintings and around 3,500 drawings make him one of the most important Austrian artists of the 20th century, the digital approach was nothing new: the Albertina had already published a digital catalog raisonné of his works on paper in 2015. This is now being technically modernized and brought up to date – while retaining its structure and content.
The institution as a hub for research
Behind all this is a deliberate strategic decision. The Albertina sees itself not only as a repository of art, but also as an active hub of an international research network. General Director Ralph Gleis expressly emphasizes that experts are invited to contribute their findings and questions to the ongoing research process. The online catalog raisonné is therefore also a communication tool – an open platform that not only distributes knowledge, but also collects it. Collectors are also invited to contribute to the project.
In order to underpin this strategy structurally, the Albertina has set up its own department for “Collection and Art Data Software”. Tasks that were previously outsourced are now developed internally. This not only creates sustainable structures, but also allows for faster innovation: playful functions such as a random generator for exploring the collection or the possibility of virtually leafing through the “Historical Adhesive Binding” are the first visible fruits of this in-house development.
What comes next
The Albertina has further catalogs of works in the works – including those on the graphic works of Arnulf Rainer and Alex Katz. Over the next few years, the Klimt catalog raisonné itself will gradually grow to include all 5,000 works. The Klimt online catalog raisonné is therefore not an end point, but a beginning: the start of a new way of conducting art research – open, networked and accessible to all. Anyone who previously only knew Klimt’s drawings from books will now find a resource that is unparalleled in its depth and interactivity.
The online catalogs of works are accessible free of charge at: gustavklimt.albertina.at | maxweiler.albertina.at | florentinapakosta.albertina.at
Read more: Art Nouveau in painting and sculpture.
