Vienna is one of the biggest art and culture metropolises in Europe. In addition to the imperial collections, numerous important collections emerged here, in particular starting in the seventeenth century and into the modern era. The biographies brought together here deal not only with viceroys, ministers of state and ambassadors, merchants, businessmen and bankers, but also with composers, painters, art dealers, and art historians. The focus is on collectors who are less well known today, who are documented in detail for the first time here based on contemporary sources. Among the central questions are the collectors motivations and acquisition strategies, as well as the preservation and presentation of the objects. Together, the biographies make an important contribution to a differentiated history of the culture of collecting, and simultaneously position Vienna in an overall European context.

Sebastian Schütze, University of Vienna.