Biographical overview
1997: Ulrich Middeldorf (156 works on Casanova, together with folders and albums)
Ulrich Middeldorf (1901–1983), born in Strassfurt in 1901, studied art history at the Universities of Giessen, Munich, and Berlin. In 1935 he emigrated to the United States, where he taught at the Institute of Art History of the University of Chicago.
He also served as curator of the sculpture department at the Art Institute of Chicago. From 1953 to 1968 he was director of the Kunsthistorisches Institut in Florenz. He died in Florence in 1983.
Acquisition of the collection
In 1997, the Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana acquired part of Middeldorf’s collection; the remaining portion was acquired by Ca' Foscari University of Venice.
Extent and composition
The collection comprises 156 works, together with folders and albums containing ancillary material.
Part of the archive consists of Middeldorf’s correspondence with leading contemporary scholars and publishers of Giacomo Casanova between 1959 and 1975, copies of three letters by Casanova himself, and a collection of press clippings from Italian and foreign newspapers and periodicals. A detailed inventory of this material is available.
The collection also includes early and modern printed works—often enriched with Middeldorf’s autograph annotations—relating to the life and writings of Casanova.
The material is catalogued and can be consulted through the OPAC.