The Kupferstichkabinett Digitisation Project

The Kupferstichkabinett – the Hamburger Kunsthalle’s Department of Prints and Drawings – has one of most important collections of works on paper in Europe, with vast holdings comprising more than 130,000 drawings, prints and photographs. The collection is notable above all for the outstanding quality of its holdings, but also for the depth and variety of these works, which make it possible to trace the history of drawing and printmaking in Europe from the 15th century through to the present day. Among the strengths of the collection are old master drawings of the Italian, Dutch and German schools. The group of drawings by Spanish old masters is particularly strong, making it one of the top three collections of its kind outside Spain, along with those of the Louvre and the Uffizi. Among the other first-rate holdings in the Kupferstichkabinett is a rich collection of Italian, German and Dutch prints and exceptional graphic works by artists such as Albrecht Dürer, Rembrandt, Giovanni Battista Piranesi and Francisco de Goya. The department also has a sizeable collection of German Romantic drawings, with fine examples by artists such as Caspar David Friedrich and Philipp Otto Runge. Along with French 19th-century prints, the Kupferstichkabinett (Department of Prints & Drawings) has strong holdings of Edvard Munch, Käthe Kollwitz and German Expressionism. The Kunsthalle also houses a number of special collections, including 19th-century art from Hamburg and a selection of important works by Horst Janssen, as well as numerous print portfolios and graphic series.

Up to now, anyone who wanted to find out more about individual artworks in our extensive collection – such as the exceptional drawings by Dürer, Rembrandt or Leonardo da Vinci – could consult existing inventory catalogues and publications from past exhibitions. Unfortunately, however, only a limited number of works have been included in the catalogues published to date, so that the information available was not very extensive.

This situation is about to change. In July 2012 we began the lengthy process of digitising all the prints and drawings that are held in the Kupferstichkabinett and the adjoining library. Our ambitious undertaking is supported by the Hamburg Senate, which has made the digital capture of the entire holdings of Hamburg’s state museums a key element of its cultural policy and has provided substantial funding to this end. The digitisation project has also received considerable support from other institutions such as the Hermann Reemtsma Stiftung and the sponsoring association »Die Meisterzeichnung. Freunde des Hamburger Kupferstichkabinetts e.V.«

From now on, the results of the project will be presented on this website and will be continually updated. The first works to be made available are the museum’s entire holdings of German, Dutch and Italian drawings. The scholarly evaluation and digital capture of these works was carried out between 2001 and 2011 and would not have been possible without the generous support of the ZEIT-Stiftung Ebelin und Gerd Bucerius. A large portion of the Italian prints held in the Kupferstichkabinett and the library will now be digitised with considerable support from the Hermann Reemtsma Stiftung, which has approved two funding measures for the indexing and digitisation of prints in bound volumes. For the latter procedure, a specially adapted book cradle has been developed and acquired with funds from the association »Die Meisterzeichnung«.

As of April 2020, more than 61,000 artworks  (Status: May 2022) are accessible in our online database. An important first step has therefore been made towards digitising the entire holdings of the Kupferstichkabinett and the Kunsthalle library, which we aim to have completed by 2021.

Scholarly Framework of the Digitisation Project

From the very beginning of the project we were aware that priorities had to be set, taking into account the limited time and financial resources available. This aspect is key to an understanding of the potential scope as well as the limitations of our online database. The main objective of the digitisation project is to provide accurate records and high-quality digital images of the objects in our collections. On principle, the digital copies of these drawings and prints are made from the original artwork. We also aim to provide full-text transcription. A more detailed technical analysis of the materials and papers used can only be conducted in individual cases, for example in the context of preparing an exhibition. This also applies to the recording of watermarks, which will be more extensively researched at a later date.

Given the vast resources that are now available on the internet, we have chosen to provide only brief biographical information on the artists/makers. The same applies to any persons depicted. More detailed information has, however, been provided in cases where the artist/maker of the artwork is less well known or where resources are scarce. Bibliographic references are currently limited to the relevant catalogues raisonnés. Secondary literature is only included if it contains a specific reference to the work in the collection of the Hamburger Kunsthalle.

The digitisation project places particular emphasis on provenance research. To this end we not only use the extensive source materials in the archive of the Hamburger Kunsthalle but also consult external archives, including those of the art trade. Provenance research is a lengthy and complex process, and it is to be expected that further archival studies will produce useful new findings.

The close cooperation between the Kupferstichkabinett (Department of Prints & Drawings) and the adjoining library is a unique feature in a German museum of this size and enables us to process very extensive groups of artworks by many artists.

Despite our best intentions, time constraints and the limitations of our own scholarly research and knowledge mean there is always a possibility that the information we provide contains mistakes and omissions. We are therefore very grateful for any corrections, comments or suggestions you may have – please send these by e-mail to kk-digital@hamburger-kunsthalle.de.

In order to offer both professionals and non-professionals the best possible user experience, we provide digital copies up to a maximum image size of 1,250 x 1,250 pixels. These are highly suitable for non-commercial use (also for PowerPoint presentations). For any form of commercial use we ask you to contact the Bildarchiv Preußischer Kulturbesitz (bpk Berlin –click on the link next to the object), where you can also order higher resolution image files. The original drawings and prints held in the Kupferstichkabinett or Hamburger Kunsthalle collections can of course also be viewed by appointment. For further information please visit http://www.hamburger-kunsthalle.de/kupferstichkabinett.

 

Technical Aspects of the Digital Image Production

Since 2003, the collections of the Kupferstichkabinett have been photographed or scanned exclusively in digital form. 

Book cradle
A Fuji medium-format camera with 50 MP is currently used on the book cradle. In general, all images can be captured with 16-bit colour depth, but they are only processed and archived in 16-bit format when necessary. The camera is controlled via a Mac mini. Converted but unedited TIF data is archived.

The objects are illuminated by four LED lamps with a colour rendering index of > 95 CRI.

The camera is mounted on a Homrich repro stand, built in 1983, and can be moved electrically. The camera’s autofocus is used for focusing; this has made it possible to replace the laser system used from 2013 to 2021 for faster focusing on the Sinar view camera, which was developed for our system by Manfred Mayer, a graduate engineer and book restorer from Graz.

Manfred Mayer is, among other things, the inventor of the ‘Graz book table’, which is used in many libraries, and he has designed a book cradle for the Hamburger Kunsthalle that is tailored to our needs.

This book cradle is designed for large book formats up to 70 x 100 cm. The aim is to produce high-quality reproductions of entire book pages, rather than merely capturing the printed image or text content, whilst ensuring the books and bound prints are handled with care.

Scanner
In the summer of 2012, a Cruse scanner with a flatbed unit was purchased for the digitisation project. The maximum scanning format is 80 x 100 cm. The lighting unit was upgraded to LED technology in 2019. The excellent colour management is based on an 800-colour chart from Cruse in the ECI colour space. The scan line has 10,000 pixels. In the corresponding format and aspect ratio, the theoretical maximum file size is 700 MB at 8-bit colour depth, or 1.4 GB at 16-bit, though these settings are only used when necessary. Most files are stored and archived as uncompressed TIF files ranging between 100 and 350 MB. The device is very user-friendly in standard operation and is therefore suitable for team use. A scan takes between two and five minutes, depending on the size of the original, the resolution set and the selected lighting setting. The maximum scan resolution is 600 dpi relative to the document format. The device is located in its own darkened room with filing tables and two computer workstations.

Data Storage and Image Processing
The unprocessed scan data is stored on a server. Only copies are used and processed for the database or for printing purposes. This data is also stored and backed up in separate directories. Three workstations with identically calibrated monitors are available for image processing; one of these is used primarily to operate the scanner. Scanning, photography and image processing are carried out by trained members of the digitisation team.

As the project progresses, the tasks of data storage, corrections and uploading are becoming increasingly time-consuming and complex.

How to Use the Online Database

Entering a search term in the Search Box on the home page allows you to conduct a free text search of all the fields used in the categorisation of the objects, including inscriptions, texts, media, materials, dates, bibliographies and provenance records. To conduct a more targeted search, click on Advanced Search and use the search form to optimise the search results. After entering or selecting terms in the individual fields, click on the Search button to the right below the search form. The Artist field contains an index of names as a drop-down list. Entering the first letter of the surname brings up the corresponding section of the index. In this field you will find the names of the artists/makers and any other people who were actively involved in the production of artworks, including engravers, draughtsmen and women, painters, sculptors, architects, printers and publishers. In the Title field you can search for an object by entering its title or name. The Date field refers to the date when the artwork was created. This can be a specific year (e.g. 1582) or a date range (e.g. 1570–1615, 18th century, probably second half 18th century). In the Genre field, select the relevant term from the drop-down menu. The Medium field covers various aspects of artistic technique, e.g. engraving, etching, drawing, lithograph, red chalk, charcoal, pen and ink, brown, black, grey, coloured. Use the Provenance field to search for previous owners of a work or find information on where it was acquired, e.g. the name of a gallery or art dealer. In the description of an artwork, its provenance is shown in a clickable index card below the basic outline. Provenance research is a complex process; for this reason, the information provided here will be modified and updated as required. You can also search for specific terms in the biographical references to an artwork (Bibliography). For the most targeted search of our online database, enter the accession number of the work in the field Acc. No. The accession numbers of works in the library always start with »kb-«. In the description of these works, the shelf mark – indicating the location of the particular publication in the library – is added in brackets. The drop-down menu in the Collections field lists all the current subsections in the database of the Kupferstichkabinett at the Hamburger Kunsthalle. Use the Keywords field to search for particular themes or subject matter. Clicking on this field opens up a menu with a variety of themes and allows you to perform a free text search of the entire database.

Digitasation Project Team

Digitising our entire holdings is a huge undertaking that involves many different people. The student members of our team, who are not only responsible for entering the information into the database MuseumPlus but also for taking the digital photographs, are the backbone of this ambitious project. The team also includes librarians, conservators and IT experts from the Hamburger Kunsthalle who devote their time and provide valuable expertise. Effective cooperation between several departments is essential in order to create an informative and user-friendly digital database; our aim is to meet the international standard for digitising museum collections that has been set by the British Museum in London.

Scholarly research:
Dr David Klemm, Head of Digitalization Project
Production of images:
Christoph Irrgang
 

Other members of staff involved in the project (in alphabetical order):

Christian Auffarth, AI Digital Manager
Anne Barz, Head of Registrar`s Department (untill 06/2016)
Dr. Ute Haug, Head of Provenance Research & History of Collection
Matthias Heine, IT & System Administration
Ursula Trieloff, Office Collections
Sabine Zorn, Head of Conservation Paper & Photography
Anja Zuschke, Bookbinding

 

Student assistants and freelance staff (in alphabetical order):

Sabine Albus (12/2014 - 12/2015), Lea Aring (since 08/2020), Christian Auffarth (07/2012 - 03/2018), Paulina Backensfeld (since 10/2023), Alina Bakowski (08/2016 – 12/2022), Christina Bartling (07/2016 – 09/20), Julia Bau (seit 11/2021), Daniel Becker (07/2012 - 09/2014), Leslie Becker (07/2012 - 09/2015), Vera Bitterer (12/2014 - 09/2017), Janosch Boerckel (11/2018 – 12/2018), Christian Brückner (01/2015 - 04/2016),  Akop Chakompian (since 01/2026), Sophia Colditz (07/2012 - 05/2016), Isabelle Demian (10/2016 -  01/2019), Jenny Emanuel (since12/2022), Marlene Frischkorn (since 04/2024), Svenja Gerndt (11/2014 - 03/2016), Julia Gaes (11/2018 -  06/2020), Jasmin Gritzka (03/2019 -  06/2021), Sereste Samanta Hai (since 04/2025), Alexander Harbich (09/2023 -  02/2026), Hannah Häseker (03/2019 -  08/2020), Miriam Häßler (01/2016 - 02/2017), Katharina Herrmann (10/2016 -  07/2020), Birte Hinrichsen (07/2012 - 09/2017), Ann-Kathrin Hubrich (07/2012 - 06/2014), Alegra Ivanova (since 03/2024), Nina Kalenbach (07/2012 - 12/2012), Julia Karkowski (07/2012 - 12/2016 und 08/2019 -  06/2022), Sonia Kerkloh (seit 01/2024), Clara Kiehnlein (since 04/2024), Xenia Kotsch (07/2012 - 02/2016), Maren Kotzyba (07/2012 - 06/2016), Sina Kraushaar (12/2014 - 12/2015), Lars Krüger (since 05/2023), Julia Lohse (seit 04/2022), Celine Loesche (07/2012 - 07/2016), Vivian Michalski (07/2012 - 11/2016), Malte Mohrdieck (04/2015 - 09/2017), Yvonne Nicolai (07/2012 - 08/2013), Kaspar Peters (03/2015 - 12/2015), Lisa Valentina Riedel (10/2016 - 01/2017), Julia Rössel (02/2017 -  03/2017), Monique Schmidtke (since 01/2023), Virginia Schmitz (seit 01/2022), Oliver Schweers (06/2016  02/2019 and employed from 04/2021 -  12/2022), Paolina Theophil (07/2012 - 11/2012), Angela Tietze (09/2014 - 04/2016), Altay Tuz (since 11/2021), Ruben Alexander Wagner (since 10/2024)