Adam Bartsch

Who was Adam Bartsch?

Johann Adam Bernhard Ritter von Bartsch was an Austrian scholar and artist. His catalogue of Old master prints is the foundation of the Art History of printmaking, and he was himself a printmaker in engraving and etching.

Bartsch joined the staff of the Royal Court Library in Vienna in 1777, after studying engraving at the Vienna Kupferstecheracademie, and became Head curator of the print collection in 1791. He was also an advisor to Duke Albert of Saxe-Teschen, who founded the collection of the Albertina, Vienna, then as now the world's finest collection of old master prints. In the twentieth century the two collections were merged in the Albertina.

Between 1803 and his death in 1821 Bartsch published in French in 21 volumes Le Peintre Graveur, a pioneering catalogue of old master prints by Dutch, Flemish, German, and Italian painter-engravers from the 15th to the 17th century. References to "Bartsch" normally mean this work. It has been reprinted five times, most recently in 1982. In 1821 he also published the Kupferstichkunde in German.

"The Illustrated Bartsch" is an English language illustrated version which has been underway since 1978, and is projected to include at least 164 volumes. Most of the picture volumes are published; the accompanying text volumes, in effect complete new catalogue raisonnés, are taking longer. In fact only Bartsch's numbering is retained in full, although his original is often quoted. It is often abbreviated to "TIB" in references. It is available online to colleges and other institutions subscribing to ARTstor- essentially in US & Canada only.