Press and Communication
Press release 04/2017
Dresden, 26. January 2017
Invitation to a press conference on Thursday, 9 February 2017, at 11.30 a.m.,
Albertinum, Hermann Glöckner Room
with:
Hilke Wagner, Director of the Albertinum
Heike Biedermann, Curator of the Exhibition
Andreas Dehmer, Curator of the Exhibition
Beneath Italian Skies.
19th-century paintings of Italy
between Claude Lorrain, Turner and
Böcklin
An exhibition by the Albertinum
Location: Albertinum
10 February to 28 May 2017
Max Klinger, The Colosseum in Rome, 1888, oil on canvas,
Albertinum / Galerie Neue Meister © SKD, photo: Estel/Klut
Hours: daily 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
closed on Mondays
During the 19th century, Italy was a magnetic destination for many travellers from Northern
Europe, including artists such as Carl Blechen, Camille Corot and William Turner, Oswald
Achenbach and Max Klinger. In Germany, Johnann Wolfgang von Goethe fuelled the compulsion
to head South with his "Italienische Reise" ("Italian Journey"), published in 1816/17 for the first
time.
"Italian" was the word Heinrich von Kleist used in a letter to describe the blue sky over Dresden,
thereby expressing a deeply rooted yearning for the bright light of a country which, in equal
measure, cast a spell with its ancient and Christian historical sites, its wealth of Renaissance art
and its landscapes. The city of Rome became an artistic focal point in this context. Artists of
various nationalities hoped to find impulses that would give direction to their creativity here.
The exhibition "Beneath Italian Skies. 19th-century paintings of Italy between Claude Lorrain,
Turner and Böcklin" in the Albertinum in Dresden traces this enthusiasm – which has continued
uninterruptedly to this day – for the "land where the lemon trees bloom". With 130 works, the
exhibition provides a comprehensive overview and invites its public to take a visually powerful
journey through the bel paese. The rich holdings of the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden
are the focal point here. Numerous paintings have been restored for the exhibition and can now
be seen for the first time anywhere.
The presentation takes place in the context of paragons from the Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister
and ancient and 19th-century sculptures from the Skulpturensammlung. At the entrance,
visitors are immediately greeted by the painting "Coastal landscape with Acis and Galatea",
completed in the mid-17th century by Claude Lorrain, who turned landscape painting into a
leading genre and, alongside Nicolas Poussin, set the standard for many artists over several
centuries to come. An impressive panorama of varied images of Italy follows, from the epochs of
Classicism and Romanticism (Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld, Ernst Ferdinand Oehme, Ludwig
Richter, Carl Blechen), through to the currents of Realism, in which the Arcadian dream gradually
gives way to an increasing engagement with reality through a conception of nature based on
studies completed in the open air (Oswald Achenbach, Adolph Menzel). The so-called GermanRomans, by contrast, drew closely on the art of antiquity and the Renaissance in the second half
of the century (Arnold Böcklin, Anselm Feuerbach, Hans von Marées). The sequence of artistic
positions thus provides an insight into the changing world as it moved from agrarian culture to
industrial landscape, from the early development of tourism by coach or foot to steam ship or
train in the late 19th century.
In this context, works by German-speaking artists are in dialogue with the works of outstanding
contemporaries such as Camille Corot, Johan Christian Dahl and William Turner. Their paintings
shaped the expectations and attitudes of many generations of travellers to Italy. The paintings
take visitors on a journey through a land of lush vegetation and striking wastelands,
Mediterranean climate and intense light, capable of inspiring anyone’s wanderlust and
imagination.
At the end of the exhibition, the focus shifts to the fascination for Italy in the present and visitors
become part of the exhibition themselves. A panorama of highly individual and contemporary
holiday impressions is created through a photo campaign aimed at visitors.
The exhibition combines valuable works that are on loan from the Tate in London, Thorvaldsens
Museum in Copenhagen, the Berlin State Museums, the Bavarian State Painting Collections in
Munich and the Städel Museum in Frankfurt, among other places.
A broad-based education and communication programme has been designed for visitors of all
ages. Themed guided tours and workshops specifically for kindergartens, schools and families,
groups and individual visitors convey the 19th century’s fascination with Italy. There are various
formats to choose from, depending on the target audience: a lecture by Florian Illies, for example,
a film evening with a showing of the legendary film "Go Trabi Go" in the presence of its star
Wolfgang Stumph, a promenade concert with the Vocal Concert Dresden ensemble or a literary
voyage of discovery, followed by a writing workshop for school students.
Two publications are on offer to complement the exhibition:
"Italienische Landschaft der Romantik. Malerei und Literatur" ("Italian Landscape of the
Romantic Period. Painting and Literature"), ed. by the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden,
Andreas Dehmer, Sandstein Verlag Dresden 2016, 104 pages, 42 mostly colour illustrations,
€19.80 / €12.00 [museum edition], ISBN 978-3-95498-229-5
"Italienbilder zwischen Romantik und Realismus. Malerei des 19. Jahrhunderts" ("Images of Italy
between Romanticism and Realism. Painting of the 19th Century"), ed. by the Staatliche
Kunstsammlungen Dresden, Heike Biedermann and Andreas Dehmer, Sandstein Verlag Dresden
2017, 196 pages, 133 mostly colour illustrations, €29.80 / €19.80 [museum edition], ISBN 978-395498-268-4
Both volumes together:
"Unter italischen Himmeln" ["Beneath Italian Skies"], 2 volumes, volume 1: "Italienische
Landschaft der Romantik. Malerei und Literatur", volume 2: "Italienbilder zwischen Romantik
und Realismus. Malerei des 19. Jahrhunderts", ed. by the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden,
Heike Biedermann and Andreas Dehmer, Sandstein Verlag Dresden 2017, 300 pages, 175 mostly
colour illustrations, €39.80 / €29.80 [museum edition], ISBN 978-3-95498-293-6
A themed issue of the "Dresdener Kunstblätter" – Vierteljahresschrift der Staatlichen
Kunstsammlungen Dresden –, 61 (2017), vol. 1 will also be appearing; it deals with the "yearning
for Italy". Sandstein Verlag Dresden 2017, 80 pages, 52 mostly colour illustrations, €5, ISBN 9783-95498-278-3
We would like to invite you to the press conference and request that you confirm your
attendance here: [email protected]. High-resolution photos are available for you to
download free of charge on the website of the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden under the
heading "Press".
With the generous support of:
Staatliche Kunstsammlung Dresden ◦ Press and Communication ◦ Head: Dr. Stephan Adam
Residenzschloss ◦ Taschenberg 2 ◦ 01067 Dresden
T +49 (0)351 4914 2643 ◦ F +49 (0)351 4914 2366 ◦ [email protected] ◦ www.skd.museum