Scope and content

The papers document Ernst Kitzinger's scholarly contribution to the history of late antique, early Christian, Byzantine, and early medieval art. The collection is comprised of offprints of his published work, research materials, lecture materials, teaching files, and photographs and slides. Kitzinger's writings begin with his dissertation, both the unpublished and abridged published versions, and proceed with "work copies" of offprints, many from the journal Dumbarton Oaks Papers. Throughout his career, Kitzinger updated his offprints with further observations; notes on more recent bibliography; correspondence, including letters from Ernst Gombrich, Erwin Panofsky, Meyer Schapiro and Kurt Weitzmann; and reviews. The materials for more than 65 lecture topics complement, but do not expressly reiterate, Kitzinger's published work. Course files document Kitzinger's Harvard University courses on Early Christian and Byzantine Art, and his seminars on Early Christian, Anglo-Saxon, and Carolingian art, mosaics, and ivories. The research files include unpublished articles and extensive research materials on floor mosaics; frieze sarcophagi; silver; and a group of Early Christian marbles at the Cleveland Museum of Art, with correspondence with William Wixom. Other sections of the papers document Kitzinger's professional activities as a reader and reviewer for art historical journals; his participation in various publication projects, such as the project to publish the notes and ideas of Wilhelm Koehler; and efforts that he made on behalf of colleagues (such as the Hans Belting and Philip Grierson), including several published obituaries. Photographs, slides and negatives generally correspond to the content of offprints, lectures, and research files, with sections on mosaics, sculpture, panel paintings, manuscripts, ivories, silver, ceramics, coins, glass, glyptic, textiles, silver and other metal works.