Ulrich Middeldorf and the Photothek

When Ulrich Middeldorf left Florence in November 1935 to teach art history at the University of Chicago, he bequeathed the "Photo collection – the special pride of our Institute" (Arthur Haseloff, director 1932–1935) in a structure that has characterized the Photothek up to the present day. His influence on the growth of the archive itself was enormous, not only because of his personal donations, but also due to the relationship he fostered with one of the the main patrons of the collection, Luigi Vittorio Fossati Bellani. With his help Middeldorf systematically expanded the sections of the Photothek. After completing his studies in 1926 Middeldorf initially came to Florence on a scholarship. In the following years he turned the Photothek into a modern research instrument, by re-organizing the classification and the card indexes as the main finding aid. Of particular interest in this project is also Middeldorf's discontinued project of an "art historically organized catalog", in which artists are cataloged with biographical data, information on their sphere of activity and their teachers. Also, it included bibliographical references that allowed a closer connection with the library.