REMBRANDT - TITIAN - BELLOTTO
SPIRIT AND SPLENDOUR OF THE DRESDEN PICTURE
GALLERY
Winterpalace
11 June to 8 November 2015
Tiziano Vecellio, called Titian, Portrait of a Lady in White, about 1555
Oil on canvas
102 x 86 cm
© Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden, Photo: Elke Estel/Hans-Peter Klut
REMBRANDT - TITIAN - BELLOTTO
SPIRIT AND SPLENDOUR OF THE DRESDEN PICTURE
GALLERY
The Dresden Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister (Picture Gallery of Old Masters) enjoys a
special position within Europe’s museum scene. This arises both from its rich collection
and from its legendary history dating back to the eighteenth century. In the space of half
a century, Augustus the Strong and his son Augustus III skilfully amassed a unique
collection that still defines the gallery to this day. From 11 June to 8 November 2015, the
exhibition Rembrandt – Titian – Bellotto: Spirit and Splendour of the Dresden Picture
Gallery at the Winter Palace will showcase masterpieces by Rembrandt, Titian, Guido
Reni, Antoine Watteau, and many other artists, illustrating the passionate collecting of
the electors of Saxony and kings of Poland. In addition, much to the admiration of
contemporaries, in 1745 one hundred works were acquired from the Duke of Modena,
Francesco III d’Este. A selection of these also feature in the Vienna show, including
paintings by Carracci, Guercino, and Velázquez. Furthermore, the exhibition showcases
works by outstanding personalities from the Dresden court, including the vedute painter
Bernardo Bellotto.
The development of the Picture Gallery in the eighteenth century has been divided into
seven chapters, tracing its evolution into an enlightened centre of education and
exchange. The royal collection’s prestige is demonstrated by important history paintings,
landscapes, still lifes, and portraits. In the economic and cultural heyday known as the
Augustan Age, many building projects and the expansion of the royal collections served
to demonstrate the new power of the Dresden court. Thus, the reigns of Augustus the
Strong and his son marked a significant expansion of the collection. The gallery’s
outstanding quality is largely thanks to the efforts of art experts and agents, who
amassed a large and internationally acclaimed selection of works. In addition, important
artists like Bernardo Bellotto or Conte Pietro Antonio Rotari, were summoned to the
court of Saxony, transforming Dresden into one of the Holy Roman Empire’s centres of
art.
The exhibition sheds light on the foundation and evolution of the collection in the Baroque
period and the Enlightenment. Groups of works relating to the Polish-Saxon court, a wellspring
of art patronage, and to the Dresden Art Academy provide an insight into the historical context
in which the collection flourished. “The exhibition focuses on the seventeenth and eighteenth
centuries, the magnificent Baroque period and the early Enlightenment. The Belvedere is
showing the exhibition Rembrandt – Titian – Bellotto: Spirit and Splendour of the Dresden
Picture Gallery at the Winter Palace of Prince Eugene who was amassing his art treasures from
many different countries at the same time as Augustus II and Augustus III. The show will
therefore transform the Winter Palace into an encounter between international art connoisseurs
from the Baroque period,” said Agnes Husslein-Arco, Director of the Belvedere.
The Dresden Gemäldegalerie (Picture Gallery)
Dresden’s Gallery of Old Masters is one of Europe’s outstanding museums. This stems from
both the collection itself, which includes masterpieces like Raphael’s Sistine Madonna and Jan
Vermeer’s Girl Reading a Letter, and from the long history of the gallery that was already in its
prime during the Baroque era. In 2013 a renovation programme was launched in the gallery
space designed by architect Gottfried Semper, thus opening the door for about one hundred
treasures to go on tour and convey a compelling impression of this collection and its history.
“I am delighted to think that these touring Old Masters, destined for Munich, Groningen, and
Vienna, have been brought together, guided by the notion of exchange in Europe. The ninetynine works convey an impression to visitors in southern Germany, the Netherlands, and Austria
of the riches housed in the centuries-old Dresden Gemäldesammlung and the epochs, masters,
and focuses this collection contains,” stated the curator of the Dresden Picture Gallery, Maike
Hohn.
Paintings belonging to the electors of Saxony can be traced back to the Renaissance, but it
was under Augustus the Strong (1670–1733) and especially his son Augustus III (1696–1763)
that the Picture Gallery truly flourished. They acquired paintings by masters from the sixteenth
to eighteenth centuries through middlemen based in different countries. In around 1745, for
example, they were admired for their purchase of one hundred works from the Duke of
Modena, Francesco III.
“Of course they did not limit themselves to paintings but also collected Kunstkammer objects –
think of the treasures in the famous Grünes Gewölbe – sculptures, and antiquities,” Belvedere
curator Georg Lechner explained. “And there is an important link with Prince Eugene, whose
former palace is where the exhibition is being held. Soon after the prince’s death in 1736,
Augustus III acquired three classical statues – the famous Herculaneum Women – from his heir.
This passionate art connoisseur evidently knew only too well where the best art treasures were
to be found,” Georg Lechner continues.
The exhibition examines different subjects in order to explore the Dresden Gallery from various
angles. These include the Saxon court as a wellspring of art patronage, the importance of the
Dresden Art Academy, and a focus on genres such as portrait, landscape, and still life. One
important aspect is the scholar Johann Joachim Winckelmann’s interest in the collection.
During his Dresden years he would have witnessed its constant expansion and changing
presentations. A selection of important works that Winckelmann could have seen on his many
visits to the gallery will also be on show in Vienna. These include Titian’s Portrait of a Lady in
White (Girl with Fan) and Anthony van Dyck’s depiction of Saint Hieronymus as well as works by
Guido Reni and Rembrandt’s Ganymede in the Talons of the Eagle.
Links between Dresden and Vienna
One of the objects in the exhibition is a Southern Landscape with Waterfall and this is of
particular interest with regard to links between Dresden and Vienna. It is by the painter Joseph
Roos (1726–1805), who was from a widely dispersed artist family. Born in Vienna, he moved
to Dresden early in his career where he later became court painter and ultimately even
academy professor. He had become a member of the academy in 1764 and this required him
to present a reception piece – as was usual in Vienna as well. It was not until 1780, following
many promptings, that he finally submitted a painting. By that time he was back in Vienna,
where in 1772 he had been appointed Director of the Imperial Gallery and tasked with its
transfer from the Stallburg to the Upper Belvedere.
Portraiture
Portraiture became established as an independent genre during the Renaissance when
representing the individual emerged as a growing priority. It promoted verisimilitude in
portraying the sitter while at the same time demonstrating status or a certain ideal of beauty.
Tronies (Dutch for head, face) were a special type of character portrait. These head or bust
portrayals were not intended to be identifiable individuals. The main aim of tronies was to
capture a specific human expression and not to represent a certain personality. Works by Jan
Lievens and Jacob Adriaensz. Backer demonstrate the flourishing of this type of portrait in
Holland during the first half of the seventeenth century.
A further type of portrayal is revealed in the varie teste from the eighteenth century by the
painter Conte Pietro Antonio Rotari. These heads have interesting facial features and a broad
range of expressions in a repeated, set format. They are devised as a series and can be
combined in a multitude of different ways.
Splendour and Transience – Still Life
Still lifes can be traced back to the murals of classical antiquity with their true-to-life paintings
of food and vessels. Examples exist in details from the Middle Ages as well, such as
deceptively real sacrament niches as part of the decoration of church buildings. It was not
until the end of the sixteenth century, however, that still life became established as an
independent genre whereupon it soon flourished. Although these paintings were extremely
popular among collectors, the genre was not regarded very highly in theoretical art writings
because the artistic invention required in history painting enjoyed greater esteem than
painting from nature.
Most still lifes in the Dresden Picture Gallery are by Dutch and Flemish artists. It is remarkable
that the majority of these paintings were already part of the collection in the early eighteenth
century.
The Dresden Kunstakademie (Art Academy)
Since the late seventeenth century, various schools of drawing and painting had existed in
Dresden before the academy was founded in 1764, then known as the “Haupt-KunstAkademie.” Although some very renowned artists were often at the helm of these earlier
institutions, they did not exert much influence on the development of local talent. It was only
with the foundation of the academy that an institution was established for training artists that
still exists today, albeit by another name.
In the political situation after the Seven Years’ War, priorities at the academy shifted. Its aim
was no longer to train court artists but to cultivate the arts in order to provide a boost for the
economy. Under the new Director Christian Ludwig von Hagedorn, famous teachers were
engaged for the various genres of history, portrait, and landscape painting, and also
architecture. With their theoretical and practical input they provided new and important
inspiration.
The Dresden Art Academy was one of many new foundations in the German imperial cities that
came about with the revival of the academic theories in the second half of the eighteenth
century.
An exhibition of the Staatliche Kunstsammlung Dresden in collaboration with the
Österreichische Galerie Belvedere.
A PDF of the catalogue is available for download at:
www.belvedere.at/press (login: pr2015)
LIST OF ARTISTS
Rembrandt - Titian - Bellotto
Spirit And Splendour Of The Dresden Picture Gallery
Francesco Albani
Jan Asselijn
Jakob Adriaensz. Backer
Bernardo Bellotto
Pieter van Bloemen
Felice Boselli
Samuel Bottschild
Charles Le Brun
Denis Calvaert
Antonio Canal, genannt Canaletto
Agostino Carracci
Annibale Carraci
Giovanni Battista Casanova
Andrea Celesti
Carlo Cignani
Johann Georg Dathan
Balthasar Denner
Christian Wilhelm Ernst Dietrich
Carlo Dolci
Gaspard Dughet
Anton van Dyck
Heinrich Christoph Fehling
Caroline Friederike Friedrich
Giovanni Ghisolfi
Luca Giordano
Anton Graff
Jean-Baptiste Greuze
Giovanni Francesco Barbieri, genannt Guercino
Jakob Philip Hackert
Cornelis de Heem
Melchior de Hondecoeter
Charles Hutin
Anton Kern
Friedrich Christian Klass
Johann Christian Klengel
Jan Lievens
Johann Liss
Andrea Locatelli
Claude Lorrain
Adám Mányoki
Carlo Maratta
Theresa Concordia Maron
Anton Raphael Mengs
Abraham Mignon
Jean François Millet
Christoph Paudiss
Wenzel Lorenz Reiner
Rembrandt
Guido Reni
Jusepe de Ribera
Marco Ricci
Johann Heinrich Roos
Joseph Roos
Salvator Rosa
Pietro Antonio Graf Rotari
Jacob Isaacksz. Van Ruisdael
Daniel Seghers
Louis de Silvestre
Frans Snijders
Leonello Spada
Ernst Stuven
Pierre Subleyras
Franz Werner Tamm
Johann Alexander Thiele
Tizian
Adriaen van Utrecht
Pietro della Vecchia
Jacopo Palma il Vecchio
Diego Rodriguez de Silva y Velázquez
Maffeo Verona
Antoine Watteau
Gaspar van Wittel
Philips Wouwerman
GENERAL INFORMATION
Exhibition Title
REMBRANDT – TITIAN – BELLOTTO
Spirit And Splendour Of The Dresden Picture Gallery
Exhibition Duration
11 June to 8 November 2015
Venue
Winterpalace
Exhibits
99
Concept
Ute Christina Koch with the help of Bernhard Maaz
Realisation
Maike Hohn
Curator in Vienna
Georg Lechner
Catalogue
Rembrandt-Tizian-Bellotto
Geist und Glanz der Dresdner Gemäldegalerie
Editors: Roger Diederen, Bernhard Maaz, Ute Christina Koch
Hirmer Verlag, 272 pages, 24 x 28 cm, Hardcover,
ISBN 978-3-7774-2202-2, € 25 (only German Version)
Contact
Belvedere, Prinz Eugen-Straße 27, 1030 Vienna
T +43 (01) 795 57-0
www.belvedere.at
Opening Hours
Daily 10 am to 6 pm
Regular Tickets
€ 9,-
Guided Tours
T +43 (01) 795 57-134, M [email protected]
Public Relations
Belvedere & Winter Palace Public Relations
Prinz Eugen-Straße 27, 1030 Vienna
T +43 (01) 795 57-177
M [email protected]
Complimentary images can be downloaded for press purposes
at www.belvedere.at/press (login: pr2015).