The leading Austrian born American art historian Heinrich Schwarz (1894–1974) was instrumental in setting up Vienna’s Gallery of the 19th Century and Modern Gallery in the Belvedere from 1923 until his expulsion by the Nazis. Besides producing many works on 18th and 19th century paintings and graphic art he also had a keen interest in the reciprocity between art and photography. In 1931 he became the first art historian to publish a monograph on a photographer, featuring the Scottish photographer David Octavius Hill. His groundbreaking research work on the pre-history and early history of photography, which also covered 19th century artists’ use of the camera obscura and mirrors, is now presented for the first time in a historical-critical and commented edition in German.

Anselm Wagner was born in Salzburg in 1965; he is professor at the Institute for Architectural Theory, Art History and Cultural Studies at the Graz University of Technology.