The Prussian Heritage Image Archive (german: Bildarchiv Preußischer Kulturbesitz or 'bpk') is an agency of the

Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation The Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation (german: Stiftung Preußischer Kulturbesitz; SPK) is a German federal government body that oversees 27 museums and cultural organizations in and around Berlin, Germany. Its purview includes all of Berlin's ...

. The archive is housed at the

Otto Nagel Otto Nagel (27 September 1894 – 12 July 1967) was a German painter, graphic designer and long-time head of the Academy of Arts, Berlin, Berlin Academy of Arts who was one of the most prolific artists of East Germany. Life Born at Wedding ( ...

-Haus in Berlin and offers photographs, cartoons and drawings in the fields of history, culture and fine arts. The collection also contains the personal estates, archives and portfolios of many famous photographers who documented life in Germany. Organizationally, the archive is a division of the

Berlin State Library The Berlin State Library (german: Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin; officially abbreviated as ''SBB'', colloquially ''Stabi'') is a universal library in Berlin, Germany and a property of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation. It is one of the ...

History

The core of the collection was built in 1966 from the historical picture library of Hermann Handke. This stock consists of about 1 million daguerrotypes, talbotypes, photographic prints, negatives,

engravings Engraving is the practice of incising a design onto a hard, usually flat surface by cutting grooves into it with a burin. The result may be a decorated object in itself, as when silver, gold, steel, or glass are engraved, or may provide an in ...

and

lithographs Lithography () is a planographic method of printing originally based on the immiscibility of oil and water. The printing is from a stone (lithographic limestone) or a metal plate with a smooth surface. It was invented in 1796 by the German a ...

. Through targeted acquisitions, donations and estate gifts, bpk's collection has grown to over 12 million photographs today and is one of the largest in Europe.

The Collection

Photographs documenting contemporary German history form the vast majority of the collection. Photographs of works of fine arts and culture from famous museums around the world are the second main focus.

German historical Photography

The earliest part of the collection starts with photographs from the period of the German Empire (1871–1918). During the

Weimar Republic The Weimar Republic (german: link=no, Weimarer Republik ), officially named the German Reich, was the government of Germany from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional federal republic for the first time in history; hence it is ...

(1919–1933),

press photography Photojournalism is journalism that uses images to tell a news story. It usually only refers to still images, but can also refer to video used in broadcast journalism. Photojournalism is distinguished from other close branches of photography (such ...

is particularly well represented. The period of the

Third Reich Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

and

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

(1933–1945) is widely documented by many photographers, some of whom also went on to document early postwar Germany (1945–49). Current events in the later years of

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

is extensively well represented, as well as photographs of everyday life in the communist-ruled

German Democratic Republic German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **G ...

Culture and Fine Arts Photography

The core of this collection consists of photographs of fine arts and artifacts in the

Berlin State Museums The Berlin State Museums (german: Staatliche Museen zu Berlin) are a group of institutions in Berlin, Germany, comprising seventeen museums in five clusters, several research institutes, libraries, and supporting facilities. They are overseen ...

, the

and the other institutions of the

. The collection has been expanded with digital photographs of artworks from museums outside Berlin, including the

Bavarian State Picture Collection The Bavarian State Painting Collections (german: Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen), based in Munich, Germany, oversees artwork held by the Free State of Bavaria. It was established in 1799 as ''Centralgemäldegaleriedirektion''. Artwork includes ...

, the

Hamburger Kunsthalle The Hamburger Kunsthalle is the art museum of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg, Germany. It is one of the largest art museums in the country. The museum consists of three connected buildings, dating from 1869 (main building), 1921 (Kuppelsaa ...

, the

Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden (, ''Dresden State Art Collections'') is a cultural institution in Dresden, Germany, owned by the State of Saxony. It is one of the most renowned and oldest museum institutions in the world, originating from the ...

, and the

Museum der bildenden Künste The Museum der bildenden Künste (German: "Museum of Fine Arts") is a museum in Leipzig, Saxony, Germany. It covers artworks from the Late Middle Ages to Modernity. History Museum Foundation and First Museum The museum dates back to the fo ...

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as ...

. bpk is also the sole distributor in the German language market for photographs of fine arts from the

Réunion des Musées Nationaux The Réunion des Musées Nationaux (RMN) is a French cultural umbrella organisation, an établissement public à caractère industriel et commercial (EPIC), formed in 2011, through the merger of the Paris National Museums and the Grand Palais. It ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

, including the

Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is the world's most-visited museum, and an historic landmark in Paris, France. It is the home of some of the best-known works of art, including the ''Mona Lisa'' and the ''Venus de Milo''. A central l ...

, Musée d'Orsay and

Musée National d'Art Moderne The Musée National d'Art Moderne (; "National Museum of Modern Art") is the national museum for modern art of France. It is located in Paris and is housed in the Centre Pompidou in the 4th arrondissement of the city. In 2021 it ranked 10th in t ...

. Since 2005 bpk has become the sole distributor in Germany, Austria and Switzerland for the Italian picture agency Scala Archives, which contributes photographs of artworks in famous Italian museums.

Online Collection

Through its web portal, bpk makes available over 300,000 digital images from its collection. With few exceptions the agency holds exclusive copyright to its collection. Therefore the images are not in the

public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work to which no exclusive intellectual property rights apply. Those rights may have expired, been forfeited, expressly waived, or may be inapplicable. Because those rights have expired, ...

and

publication rights Publication right is a type of copyright granted to the publisher who first publishes a previously unpublished work after that work's original copyright has expired. It is in almost all respects the same as standard copyright, but excludes moral r ...

must be obtained from bpk.

Known artists represented

Arthur Grimm Arthur Hetherington Grimm (27 August 1868 – 20 March 1939) was a politician, farmer and stock and station agent in New South Wales, Australia. He was born at Dalby in Queensland to Presbyterian minister George Grimm, and Mary, Hetherington ...

: World War II * Bernd Heyden: Everyday life, 1970s and 1980s * Hanns Hubmann: Current affairs, 1930s to 1980s * Bernd Lohse: Travel, 1930s to 1950s * Willi Moegle: Design and advertising, 1920s to 1990s * Hildegard Ochse: Contemporary history, 1970s to 1990s * Hilmar Pabel: Contemporary history, 1930s to 1970s *

Erich Salomon Erich Salomon (28 April 1886 – 7 July 1944) was a German Jewish news photographer known for his pictures in the diplomatic and legal professions and the innovative methods he used to acquire them. Life and work Born in Berlin, Salomon studied ...

: Contemporary history, 1920/1930s * Friedrich Seidenstücker: Daily life and current affairs in Berlin, 1920s to 1950s *

Abisag Tüllmann Abisag Tüllmann (7 October 1935 – 24 September 1996) was a German photographer. Life Born in Hagen, Westphalia, Tüllmann, daughter of Hedwig and Franz Tüllmann († 28 July 1945), was born with the civil name Ursula Eva Tüllmann. Her ma ...

: Everyday life, culture and politics of the Federal Republic of Germany, 1950s to 1980s * Charles Paul Wilp: Advertising, 1950s to 1970s * Benno Wundshammer: Current affairs, 1930s to 1970s

References

External links

Library Portal in English
{{Authority control ImageArchives Libraries in Berlin Photo archives in Germany 1966 establishments in Germany

History

The Collection

German historical Photography

Culture and Fine Arts Photography

Online Collection

Known artists represented

See also

References

External links