Dictionary of Art HistoriansHistorian of Italian Renaissance sculpture. He was born in Görz, Italy, which is present day Gorizia, Italy. Planiscig studied art history in Vienna with Max Dvořák and Julius Alwin von Schlosser. After receiving his degree in 1912, Planiscig became the artistic advisor to Franz Ferdinand, Archduke of Austria-Este. Archduke Ferdinand was assassinated in 1914, and Planiscig was ordered to move the Este collection to the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna. He became the Director of sculpture and decorative arts in 1933. Planiscig survived a bombing raid on his house, but suffered mental problems afterward. In 1938, he moved to Florence to pursue private research, where he wrote monographs on Italian sculptors and published books about 15th century Italian Renaissance bronze sculptures.
The Dictionary of Art; Wendland, Ulrike. Biographisches Handbuch deutschsprachiger Kunsthistoriker im Exil: Leben und Werk der unter dem Nationalsozialismus verfolgten und vertriebenen Wissenschaftler. Munich: Saur, 1999, vol. 2, pp.521-525.