"The glass negatives have tremendous documentary value—not only for the museum and the collection itself but also for the public. They provide a crucial visual record of significant artworks that were lost."
"The systematic campaign to photograph the collection began in 1925, with most negatives created by Gustav Schwarz, documenting acquisitions and preserving the visual history of the museum's collection."
The Gemäldegalerie in Berlin has digitized its glass-negative archive of paintings lost in WWII, allowing public access to high-resolution images. In May 1945, fires destroyed around 430 artworks, including pieces by Rubens and Caravaggio. The negatives, created to document the collection, were made by photographer Gustav Schwarz and have survived in good condition. This digitization addresses gaps in art history and supports research in attribution and conservation, offering tremendous documentary value to both scholars and the public.
Read at The Art Newspaper - International art news and events
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