Mandate

A selection of documents from the Prints and Drawings Department
The Prints and Drawings Department archives Switzerland’s cultural heritage in pictorial form.
© NL, Simon Schmid

The Prints and Drawings Department of the Swiss National Library (NL) collects prints and original works of art on paper as well as photography and mass media such as posters and picture postcards. Its mandate is to collect, catalogue and conserve Switzerland’s cultural heritage in pictorial form and make it available for research. It is therefore an important source of imagery on and about Switzerland.

The Prints and Drawings Department is also active in a number of other areas:

  • It works with art and pictorial history collections and institutions in Switzerland and internationally.
  • It maintains relationships with art and photography collections, image archives and specialised libraries, art and culture juries and publishers.
  • It supports and conducts its own research and publication projects related to its collections.
  • It is represented on collection-related research and evaluation bodies.
  • It follows artistic developments in Switzerland and key issues in art and architecture history.
  • It is receptive not just to traditional pictorial records but also to visual sources in general as well as new artistic trends and media.

Last modification 22.01.2024

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Contact

Swiss National Library
Prints and Drawings Department
Hallwylstrasse 15
3003 Bern
Switzerland
Phone +41 58 462 89 71
E-mail

Print contact

Opening hours

by appointment

https://www.nb.admin.ch/content/snl/en/home/about-us/pdd/mandate.html