The contributions to this volume shed light on the emergence of important collections of drawings in Vienna and Central Europe, many of which form the basis of today¿s large museum holdings in Vienna, Berlin, Dresden and Hamburg, for example. They investigate the relevant players and their international connections and motivation, special collection foci and acquisition strategies, as well as systems of storage and classification. The media dissemination of the collections in reproductive engravings or through catalogues is discussed as well as the structures of the art and auction trade and the interplay between collecting, connoisseurship and the study of graphic art. The volume also shows the extent to which collections of drawings influenced art history and the methodological development of the discipline, especially in the 18th and 19th centuries.

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