In the EU-funded project, Partage Plus – Digitising and Enabling Art Nouveau for Europeana, museum objects relating to the historical development of Art Nouveau (known in German-speaking countries as Jugendstil) are being digitally photographed by the Foto Marburg image archive, indexed and made accessible in an online database. Images and their accompanying metadata will be posted online on the Europeana’s own website, the collective online database 'Bildindex der Kunst und Architektur' run by Foto Marburg, and individual websites of some of the participating museums.

Some 23 cultural institutions from across 17 European countries are directly involved in Partage Plus, while a further eight institutions are included in the project as assisting partners. The London-based Collections Trust is responsible for project coordination. Funding for the project comes from the EU’s ICT programme in support of the information society, as part of its Competitiveness and Innovation Framework Programme (CIP).

Participation in Partage Plus marks an important step in the digitalization of the Kunstbibliothek’s architectural holdings. Key to the endeavour is the oeuvre of Jugendstil architect Joseph Maria Olbrich; his estate collection of drawings (totalling approximately 2000 objects) has been preserved at the Kunstbibliothek since 1912.

Scholarly team: Dr. Andreas Bienert, Generaldirektion, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin; Elke Blauert, Dr. Anita Kühnel, Dr. Adelheid Rasche, research associates, Kunstbibliothek
Partners: Deutsches Dokumentationszentrum für Kunstgeschichte – Bildarchiv Foto Marburg, Philipps-Universität Marburg
Projektwebsite: www.partage-plus.eu
Funded by: European Union (CIP ICT-PSP programme)
Duration: 2013 to 2014