August the Strong is a name that is connected with all buildings that we admire in Dresden. When he wasn’t bending horseshoes and making many children, he was also a lover of art, which is how this gallery was born…
Entering the gallery
I don’t usually go in through the main entrance I always go to the side entrance.
But as long as there’s a possibility of entering, then I’m happy. So, my dear fellow wheelers, there is an entrance to the gallery.
The gallery is wheelchair accessible and you can check opening hours and tickets here.
About the Gallery
August the Strong collected works of art from all over the world, which Dresden is proud of today. Another of his achievements is this Gallery of Old Masters. It is housed in Zwinger Palace.
The collection was started by August the Strong in the 16th century, but it reached its peak in 1746. during the reign of Augustus III when a large part of it was bought from the Duke of Modena. The number of works has almost doubled.
The gallery is neither big nor small, but just right. 700 works created in the period from the 15th to the 18th century are on display.
The Italian Renaissance, Danish and Flemish masters, French and Spanish painters, as well as several German works found a place in this collection.
From the moment you enter the gallery, it feels like you’ve stepped into someone’s grandiose living room. The walls in the gallery are painted in green, red and blue, and the works in the gallery are grouped in this way.
The Italian collection is marked in red, the Dutch and Flemish masters are grouped in the green section, while the Spanish and French painters are included in the blue wing.
During the 16th century, the Saxon rulers considered paintings to be works of lesser value and more attention was paid to the advancement of science.
However, then August the Strong enters the scene. He realized the importance of paintings and begins to collect them.
The gallery reflects the taste of the former Saxon rulers. The paintings used to be exhibited in the apartments of the Dresden castle, but when the collection grew significantly, it was necessary to group all the works in one special place. This was done on the directive of who else but Augustus the Strong. A gallery was created in the Zwinger complex in 1718.
During the Second World War, the paintings were scattered all over the country, in order to preserve them, but to this day, 450 works are still missing.
Get ready for a real treat, because there are names: Raphael, Titian, Vermeer, Rembrandt and many others here…
Sistine Madonna
The most important painting in the gallery is the Sistine Madonna by Raphael. You can take a picture next to her. There is always a guard standing here, who discreetly moves when he finds that your intentions are honorable and honest.
The path of Raphael’s Madonna to Dresden was not a straight line. The painting was commissioned by the then Pope Julius II. It was painted by Raphael in 1512. It was part of the altar of the Benedictine monastery of San Sisto in Piacenza.
She was there for almost 250 years and then the monastery fell into financial difficulties and the painting was sold. In 1754 it was bought by Augustus III for a huge sum of money. He valued the painting so much that at first it hung in the throne room. He even gave it a festive welcome. Augustus III passionately wanted this painting in his collection, because it was a representative of the high Renaissance school. Divine properties were attributed to her. According to legend, Raphael had a divine vision, according to which he painted the Madonna. It is also believed that he borrowed the image of the Madonna from Margarita Luti, the daughter of a Roman baker, who was his lover and model for many years.
Many claimed that the painting has miraculous properties and brings people into religious ecstasy. This gave the image the status of an icon, which it retained until the 19th century. Tourists came to Dresden just for her and asked for copies.
Raphael painted the Madonna motif many times during his lifetime. Why is this picture the most important? Because this is the last Madonna he painted and it was also the most sought-after and most expensive painting for many years.
During World War II, the painting was hidden in Thule, southeast of Dresden. After the war, it was exhibited in the Pushkin Museum, after which it was returned in 1955. Today it is one of the most important paintings, not only in Dresden, but in all of Germany.
Motifs from the painting are everywhere in Dresden. On chocolate, in magazines, T-shirts, but not the Madonna, the cherubic angels, who are at the bottom of the picture.
According to legend, Raphael painted them according to the figures of children, who watched him while he was working. The heads of these two boys are the most exploited motif in the marketing sense. They gained their fame even before the Mona Lisa.
There are many more pictures for you to pay attention to.
Imagine studying at the Academy of Fine Arts and being able to analyze these canvases whenever you feel like it.
During my visit there was a group of students who were closely studying some of the canvases of the old masters.
Conclusion
The rest of us have to travel far to approach such beauty and since there is no replay, it must be enjoyed fully. You need at least 2.5 hours to visit. I enjoyed every moment of it on a rainy afternoon in Dresden.
Have you been to Dresden?
Did I miss something?
Traveled and enjoyed,
Marko Veličković
