| He studied at the University of Vienna and under Jacob Schmuzer (1733-1811) at the Viennese Academy of Arts, where he learned printmaking and drawing. From 1777 he worked in the Imperial Library, cataloging the contents. He expanded his knowledge of prints by travel in Europe: in 1784 he went to Paris to try to acquire the print collection of the miniaturist Johann Anton de Peters; he also studied Parisian collections and purchased 21 Rembrandt prints from Pierre-Francois Basan. At this time Bartsch began to formulate his approach to the study and classification of prints; as a model to his approach, he undoubtedly looked to the extensive lists and annotations made by Pierre Mariette (ii) of the albums of prints that formed the core of the imperial print collection. In June 1784 Bartsch visited Brussels, where he met the art dealer Domenico Artaria. He travelled in the Netherlands and built up an extensive knowledge of Rembrandts etchings, which he later put to use in his catalogue raisonne. In 1791 he assumed the position of keeper of the imperial print collection, making purchases that expanded the 15th- and 16th-century Italian volumes from 4 to 81. In 1792 he was elected to the Viennese Academy of Fine Arts and in 1794 became adviser to Albert, Duke of Saxe-Teschen, on his drawings collection.In 1794 Bartsch produced the sale catalog of the drawings assembled by Charles-Antoine-Joseph, Prince de Ligne (1759-92). In 1795 he completed the first of his single-artists oeuvre catalogs, on the prints of Antoni Waterlo, which was closely followed by similar catalogs on Guido Reni and his school, Rembrandt and Lucas van Leyden. His project to reprint the recently rediscovered woodblocks commissioned by Emperor Maximilian I celebrating the achievements of his reign comprised Der Triumphzug Kaiser Maximilians I, Die Ehrenpforte, Der Weisskunig and Die Heiligen aus der Sipp-, Mag- und Schwagerschaft des Kaisers Maximilian I. Bartschs Peintre-graveur series (Vienna, 1803-21) was intended to provide an introduction to the engravings that famous painters created after their own designs. The volumes divided the c. 500 artists by country and school, and each entry by subject-matter. Brief descriptions of each print enable it to be identified, and differences in states are noted, together with the degree of rarity if relevant. Illustrations were included to enable the collector to distinguish between an original and a copy or fake. Bartschs work set the standard for the modern print cataloguer, and his series has never been surpassed, although various supplements have been added and an Illustrated Bartsch has expanded commentaries and illustrations of all the prints. The 21 volumes of the Peintre-graveur were completed in the year of his death, which also saw the publication of his introduction to engraving, Anleitung zur Kupferstichkunde. |
