Dresden Art Gallery (Old Masters Gallery)

Dresden Art Gallery is a collection of authentic gems of painting from the XV-XVIII centuries. It is located in the ancient palace complex Zwinger, in the historic center of Dresden, the capital of the German state of Saxony. The attraction is also known as the Old Masters Gallery.

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Video: Dresden Art Gallery

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General Description

Originally the paintings decorated the palace of the Saxon Electors, then one of the rooms of the Zwinger was adapted for the exposition, and in the middle of the XIX century a separate two-storey building with enfilades of halls was built for the gallery, where the masterpieces can be viewed to this day. The real treasures of the Dresden Gallery are the paintings of Renaissance masters. The works of Dutch artists Rembrandt van Rijn and Jacob van Reisdal, German painters Albrecht Dürer, Hans Holbein, Lucas Cranach are exhibited here. Paintings by artists from other European countries are represented by paintings by El Greco, Velasquez and many other masters. In addition to paintings, the gallery contains antique woven tapestries, pastels and miniatures.

The gallery in Dresden is on the prestigious list of the most famous art museums on the planet. It is second only to the Berlin collections in the ranking of German museums. More than half a million art lovers visit the Old Masters Gallery in Dresden every year.

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History of the art gallery

Art collecting was the passion of the powerful ruler of Saxony, Augustus II the Strong, who also held the titles of King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania. This monarch ruled at the turn of the 17th and 18th centuries, during which time the core of his art collection, which became the basis of the modern Dresden Picture Gallery, was formed. The Crown Prince, who eventually took over his father’s throne under the name of Augustus III, augmented the collection with new acquisitions of paintings by famous painters.

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In 1746, Augustus III bought in Italy about a hundred paintings that decorated the palace of Francesco III D’Este, Duke of Modena and Reggio. Among them were rare paintings by artists of the Renaissance, works by masters who created in the period of Baroque and classicism. But the most successful acquisition of the Saxon Elector was a painting by Rafael Santi “Sistine Madonna”, painted in the early 16th century and kept in a monastery in Italy.

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The art collection of the Saxon Electors, greatly augmented under this patron of the arts, achieved European fame. But the priceless pictures which crowded the interiors of the royal palace were inaccessible to the general public. The time had come to place these treasures in a special gallery. It was decided to erect it in the palace complex Zwinger. The building was designed by the outstanding German architect Gottfried Semper. Despite the fact that the facades of the gallery are made in the Neo-Renaissance style, the building harmonized with the Baroque style of the architectural complex.

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The construction of the building was completed in 1855. Now everyone could see the artistic treasures. The first visitors were Dresden burghers who brought their families to admire the paintings. There is evidence that the only condition for tourists in the middle of the XIX century was a dress code: visitors were obliged to come to the gallery in “decent clothes”. But one should not think that for ordinary European townspeople paintings of famous artists were a curiosity. Many painters drew the subjects of their works in the everyday environment and fulfilled the orders of not only rich aristocrats, but also wealthy merchants and artisans. For example, exhibited in the Dresden Gallery paintings of the so-called “small Dutch”, writing canvases of small size, once decorated the living rooms of weavers or carpenters. It is known that one of Vermeer’s paintings once hung in the home of an Amsterdam baker.

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The German National Socialists who came to power in Germany in 1933, led by Adolf Hitler, infected the country with the ideology of Nazism. Some of the paintings of the Dresden Gallery were declared “degenerate and ideologically harmful”, and soon these works were destroyed. Many paintings that the Nazi leaders liked were moved to their luxurious apartments.

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The gallery building suffered catastrophic damage during World War II. In April 1945, it was bombed by Allied planes. Most of the paintings had been removed and hidden in advance, but the remaining paintings, mostly large format, were destroyed by fire. When Dresden was cleared of Wehrmacht troops by the Soviet army, the hidden paintings were discovered in nearby mine workings. Among them was Raphael’s Sistine Madonna, which had been severely damaged by damp. The finds were taken to restoration workshops in Moscow, Leningrad and Kiev. In June 1956, Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev returned the rescued works of art to Dresden.

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The restoration of the Dresden Gallery building was completed in 1960, but the museum also underwent extensive restoration work in the following years. After another reconstruction a few years ago, the interior decoration of the halls has undergone dramatic changes. The external luxury of the royal Zwinger remains beyond the threshold of the gallery. The interiors are decorated in an emphasized restrained manner, there is nothing to distract from the contemplation of the paintings hung on the monochrome walls.

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Masterpieces of the Dresden Gallery

The catalog of the Dresden Art Gallery lists about 1,500 works, but the exhibition space allows the display of no more than 450 of them. From time to time, a few paintings are sent to the storerooms and their place is taken by other paintings in the collection. Because of the glare of the lighting, some paintings placed in the top row, under the ceilings, can be difficult to see. But the time comes to change the exposition, and these canvases are moved to a more favorable area for viewing, so that tourists on a second visit to the museum have every chance to make a new discovery of works by their favorite artists.

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Let us present a few famous paintings by artists from different countries and eras that never leave the Dresden Gallery’s exposition.

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The Sistine Madonna

Raphael painted the image of the Virgin Mary with the infant Jesus in her arms around 1513 for the Benedictine monastery of St. Sixtus in Piacenza. Before the Madonna stepping out of the clouds, the heavenly patrons of Piacenza, St. Barbara and St. Sixtus, bow down. According to legend, the model for the image of the Queen of Heaven was the beautiful Fornarina, the artist’s model and lover. The characters of legends became and two lovely angels, admiringly looking at the Madonna. It is said that the images of these cherubs Raphael was inspired by village children, mesmerized by the window with sweets in the city bakery.

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For more than two centuries, the painting hanging over the altar of a provincial monastery was not widely known. But one day it was discovered by agents of the King of Saxony, who were buying up works of art for him all over Europe. Elector Augustus III negotiated with Pope Benedict XIV for several years, seeking permission to buy and export the painting to Dresden. Finally, in 1754, the negotiations were successful. The crowned connoisseur of painting purchased a painting by Raphael for a colossal sum corresponding to 70 gold bars weighing one kilogram. It was the largest amount paid for an artwork in history. The place of the painting over the monastery altar was taken by a high-quality copy.

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It is said that King Augustus loved to spend hours looking at this canvas of the great painter. He even ordered to move his throne to contemplate the Madonna in the most favorable angle. Today connoisseurs of painting have the opportunity to sit on comfortable leather sofas in the center of many halls of the Dresden Gallery and comfortably admire the stunning works.

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‘ Sistine Madonna

The Dresden Altarpiece

In April 1496, the Saxon Elector Frederick III visited Nuremberg. During this visit, he commissioned several works from the great German artist Albrecht Dürer. In the Dresden Gallery you can get acquainted with some of them. Here are paintings on Christian themes, intended for the royal chapel and painted on wooden panels – an altarpiece triptych, called the “Dresden Altarpiece”, and seven panels with allegorical depictions of the seven deadly sins.

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‘ Dresden Altar

Girl with a Letter

‘ Chocolatnitsa

Sights nearby

After seeing the Dresden Gallery’s collection of paintings, stroll through the other Zwinger museums and tour the complex’s many architectural monuments. A short walk away, on the Elbe embankment, is the New Masters Gallery, which exhibits a collection of works by prominent European painters from the 19th and 20th centuries. Its masterpieces are housed in the Albertinum Museum of Fine Arts. Both museums are united under the auspices of the State Art Collections of Dresden.

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Nearby you can explore the Royal Opera House, the Transport Museum, the Royal Palace and ancient churches.

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Practical information

The Dresden Art Gallery is open Tuesday through Sunday. Monday is a day off. Opening hours are 10:00-18:00.

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At the entrance, visitors are offered an audio guide with headphones (3 €), which contains concise commentary by art historians on about fifty of the gallery’s most famous paintings. A Russian-language version is available. The audio tour guide can be downloaded to your smartphone free of charge. At the entrance to the Dresden Gallery there is a souvenir store offering art albums with reproductions of paintings.

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Admission to the Old Masters Gallery costs €10, and the ticket allows you to visit two other museums located next door at the Zwinger: an exhibition of Chinese and Meissen porcelain, and the Physics and Mathematics Salon, where ancient scientific instruments are on display. A tour of the gallery in a group of 10 people costs 11 €. Children and young people under the age of 17 enjoy free admission to the gallery.

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On Sundays from 15:00 to 18:00, admission to the Dresden Art Gallery is free for everyone. This innovation has been in effect since 2018 and applies to all museums in the city that are part of the Dresden State Art Collections.

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How to get there

The address of the Dresden Art Gallery is Theaterplatz 1 (Theaterplatz). From other parts of the city you can get here by streetcar to the center. From the railway station it is convenient to get to the gallery by streetcars № 4, 8, 9, 11. Get off at the stop “Postplatz”, then walk. You should get off at the same stop if you take one of the city buses from the railway station, which run on routes No. 333 or No. 360.

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