DFG Project "Gurlitt Estate

In-depth indexing of the estate of Prof. Cornelius Gurlitt (1850-1938) for the Internet

Cornelius Gurlitt, co-founder and chairman of the Association of German Architects, rector of the Dresden University of Technology, founder of art historical Baroque research and renowned academic teacher, spent a significant part of his professional life in Dresden. With the support of Jürgen Paul, the archive of the Technical University of Dresden has succeeded in several steps since 1999 in concentrating large parts of C. Gurlitt's written estate in the university archive. Among this estate, his extensive correspondence with relatives, friends, scholars, and public figures stands out. The collection, which numbers around 1,600 letters, is to be transcribed verbatim and in an easily readable form in this project as a focal point, and provided with comments and illustrative material. In order to make them quickly and easily accessible to researchers and the public, it should be possible to access the information on the Internet via a database once the interdisciplinary work has been completed. In addition, further information on Cornelius Gurlitt will be compiled and initial evaluations of the estate will be carried out. The project, financed by the German Research Foundation, will run for two years from 2005 to 2007 and is designed as a cooperation between the University Archive of the TU Dresden and the Media Design Center. Suggestions can be forwarded to the University Archive at any time.

Postcard written by Cornelius Gurlitt on August 19, 1900:
"Dear Memo, Mama writes us that you are coming to Dresden in September. We are pleased to welcome you as our dear guest. On September 24 is the '1st Day for the Preservation of Monuments' in Dresden, to which the Saxon government has also invited the Austrian. All restorers, inventorers and other gates, so also state conservators are to be rounded up. Can you be 'delegated'? [...]"
 

Project Manager:
Dr. Matthias Lienert

The publication of the finding aid and the transcribed letters is currently being prepared.