Hand Drawings from Margravial Property

The hand drawings in the graphics collection of Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, once the property of the Margraves of Brandenburg-Ansbach and in the university library since 1805/1806, are considered the only intact testimony to the great Nuremberg art collecting tradition.

The approximately 2,000 sheets form one of the most important collections of Old German drawings. The ensemble owes its special status not only to its top pieces, but also to its origins. Nowhere else can one find such whole and dense groups of works on German 15th and 16th-century drawing.

The collection comprises 1,987 hand drawings from the 14th to the early 18th century. In addition to Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528), who is represented with several drawings, there are sheets by all the important artists of the late Middle Ages and early modern period: Albrecht Altdorfer, Wolf Huber, Wolf Traut, Hans Schäufelein as well as a large collection by Lucas Cranach the Elder, Lucas Cranach the Younger and their workshop.

The first recording of the holdings in a printed catalogue took place in 1929:

• Bock, Elfried: Die Zeichnungen in der Universitätsbibliothek Erlangen, Frankfurt am Main 1929

Since 2009, it has been possible, thanks to numerous German and foreign donors, to scientifically research the holdings after more than 80 years and to record them in several critical collection catalogues:

• Zeichnen vor Dürer. Die Zeichnungen des 14. und 15. Jahrhunderts in der Universitätsbibliothek Erlangen, Petersberg 2009 (ISBN: 978-3-86568-469-1)
  
• Zeichnen seit Dürer. Die süddeutschen und schweizerischen Zeichnungen der Renaissance in der Universitätsbibliothek Erlangen, Petersberg 2014 (ISBN: 978-3-86568-966-5)
  
• Zeichnen in Cranachs Werkstatt. Die sächsischen Zeichnungen der Renaissance in der Universitätsbibliothek Erlangen, Petersberg 2018 (ISBN: 978-3-7319-0639-1)
  
• Zeichnen im Barock. Die Zeichnungen des 17. und 18. Jahrhunderts in der Universitätsbibliothek Erlangen, Petersberg 2020 (ISBN: 978-3-7319-0969-9)

The descriptions and digital copies of the hand drawings are also accessible via the university library’s online catalogue and digital collections.

• The objects of the collection "Hand Drawings from Margravial Property" available on bavarikon

The other part collections of the collection "The Margravial Collections of the Friedrich-Alexander Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg" available on bavarikon

• Prints from Margravial Property
• City maps, vedute and architectural views from Margravial Property

>> This collection is part of the collection "The Margravial Collections of the Friedrich-Alexander Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg" of the holdings of the Universitätsbibliothek der Friedrich-Alexander-Universität (University Library of the Friedrich Alexander University, FAU).