ALBERTINA GRAPHICS COLLECTION

German Graphische Sammlung Albertina, compilation of graphic arts in the Hofburg, or Imperial Palace, of Vienna, Austria. It is important for its comprehensive collection of prints, drawings, sketchbooks, and miniatures assembled in the 18th century by Albert Kasimir, Duke of Saxe-Teschen, and cataloged by Adam von Bartsch. The extraordinary quantity and quality of prints in this collection induced Bartsch to go one step further and establish oeuvre catalogs (inventories of works produced by an artist) of the masters of printmaking. The collection was administered and enlarged by Albert's successors until 1920, when it was taken over by the government of Austria. The collection centres on European drawings and prints from the 15th to the 20th century.