THE ART COLLECTION OF THE BIBLIOTHECA HERTZIANA

The Bibliotheca Hertziana owns a collection of art objects and historical furniture, most of which were part of the furnishings of the Palazzo Zuccari when it became the property of the Kaiser Wilhelm Society (now the Max Planck Society) after the death of the institute's foundress Henriette Hertz in 1913. In addition to furnishings, the collection also includes porcelain, silverware, ceramic objects, tapestries, and a variety of paintings, sculptures, and antiquities.

A highlight of the painting collection is the vault decoration attributed to Polidoro da Caravaggio with scenes from ancient Roman history, originally created for the Villa Lante on the Gianicolo. The self-portrait by Federico Zuccari, which shows the painter in conversation with Benedetto Busini in front of a model of the dome of Florence Cathedral, also ought to be noted. Among the furnishings that became the property of the Max Planck Society with the purchase of the Palazzo Stroganoff there is, in addition to various paintings, also a complete set of hand-painted leather wallpapers with gold embossing, made around 1725 in the Flemish region.

The Hertziana's art collection also includes around 2,000 printed sheets and almost 300 drawings, which were donated to institute by its first director, Ernst Steinmann. Of particular interest is a series of nearly 100 hand-drawn vedute of Rome and the Roman Campagna from the 1780s. They are attributed to Felice Giani and are based on drawings by the painter Franz Caucig. Also noteworthy is a series of rare 16th-century engravings based on Michelangelo's compositions, including several from the workshop of Antonio Salamanca.