Kupferstich-Kabinett (Dresden)
Encyclopedia
The Kupferstichkabinett (English: Collection of Prints, Drawings and Photographs) is part of the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen
(State Art Collections) of Dresden
, Germany
. Since 2004 it has been located in Dresden Castle
.
traces its origins to the Prince-electors of Saxony
. The art chamber of the House of Wettin, established around 1560, became an independent museum of prints and drawings in 1720. The collection was expanded in the following centuries. It now describes itself as the oldest museum of graphic arts in the German-speaking world.
The bombing of Dresden
in February 1945 had a severe impact on the collection. Despite evacuation of the items, losses were high. Some of the most famous exhibits were confiscated by the Soviet Union
after the war and did not return to Dresden until the late 1950s, when they were put back on display in the Albertinum
.
, Albrecht Dürer
, Jan van Eyck
, Francisco de Goya, Hans Holbein the Younger
, Michelangelo
, Rembrandt, and Rubens
. There is also a large number of works by artists with strong connections to Dresden, such as Caspar David Friedrich
, Ludwig Richter, Georg Baselitz
and Johannes Heisig
. The collection of Käthe Kollwitz
was started in 1898 and now numbers over 200 works from her oeuvre of drawings and graphics.
Besides the permanent exhibition, the Kupferstichkabinett also hosts regular special exhibitions featuring both its own works and those on loan from other notable museums.
Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden
Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden is a cultural institution in Dresden, Germany, owned by the State of Saxony. It belongs to the most renowned and oldest museum institutions in the world, originating from the collections of the Saxon electors in the 16th century .Today, the Dresden State Art...
(State Art Collections) of Dresden
Dresden
Dresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. Since 2004 it has been located in Dresden Castle
Dresden castle
Dresden Castle is one of the oldest buildings in Dresden. For almost 400 years, it has been the residence of the electors and kings of Saxony...
.
History
Like many of Dresden's notable collections, this print roomPrint room
A print room is either a room or industrial building where printing takes place, or a room in an art gallery or museum, where a collection of old master and modern prints, usually together with drawings, watercolours and photographs, are held and viewed. The latter meaning is the subject of this...
traces its origins to the Prince-electors of Saxony
Electorate of Saxony
The Electorate of Saxony , sometimes referred to as Upper Saxony, was a State of the Holy Roman Empire. It was established when Emperor Charles IV raised the Ascanian duchy of Saxe-Wittenberg to the status of an Electorate by the Golden Bull of 1356...
. The art chamber of the House of Wettin, established around 1560, became an independent museum of prints and drawings in 1720. The collection was expanded in the following centuries. It now describes itself as the oldest museum of graphic arts in the German-speaking world.
The bombing of Dresden
Bombing of Dresden in World War II
The Bombing of Dresden was a military bombing by the British Royal Air Force and the United States Army Air Force and as part of the Allied forces between 13 February and 15 February 1945 in the Second World War...
in February 1945 had a severe impact on the collection. Despite evacuation of the items, losses were high. Some of the most famous exhibits were confiscated by the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
after the war and did not return to Dresden until the late 1950s, when they were put back on display in the Albertinum
Albertinum
The Albertinum is a famous fine art museum in Dresden, Germany, close to Brühl's Terrace and the Zwinger.- History :The Albertinum, named after Saxon king Albert, was built between 1884 and 1887 by Carl Adolf Canzler on the site of a former armoury to serve as a public museum and archive...
.
Collection
The collection includes over 500,000 items, only a fraction of which can be exhibited. The most renowned artists in the collection include Lucas Cranach the ElderLucas Cranach the Elder
Lucas Cranach the Elder , was a German Renaissance painter and printmaker in woodcut and engraving...
, Albrecht Dürer
Albrecht Dürer
Albrecht Dürer was a German painter, printmaker, engraver, mathematician, and theorist from Nuremberg. His prints established his reputation across Europe when he was still in his twenties, and he has been conventionally regarded as the greatest artist of the Northern Renaissance ever since...
, Jan van Eyck
Jan van Eyck
Jan van Eyck was a Flemish painter active in Bruges and considered one of the best Northern European painters of the 15th century....
, Francisco de Goya, Hans Holbein the Younger
Hans Holbein the Younger
Hans Holbein the Younger was a German artist and printmaker who worked in a Northern Renaissance style. He is best known as one of the greatest portraitists of the 16th century. He also produced religious art, satire and Reformation propaganda, and made a significant contribution to the history...
, Michelangelo
Michelangelo
Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni , commonly known as Michelangelo, was an Italian Renaissance painter, sculptor, architect, poet, and engineer who exerted an unparalleled influence on the development of Western art...
, Rembrandt, and Rubens
Rubens
Rubens is often used to refer to Peter Paul Rubens , the Flemish artist.Rubens may also refer to:- People :Family name* Paul Rubens Rubens is often used to refer to Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640), the Flemish artist.Rubens may also refer to:- People :Family name* Paul Rubens (composer) Rubens is...
. There is also a large number of works by artists with strong connections to Dresden, such as Caspar David Friedrich
Caspar David Friedrich
Caspar David Friedrich was a 19th-century German Romantic landscape painter, generally considered the most important German artist of his generation. He is best known for his mid-period allegorical landscapes which typically feature contemplative figures silhouetted against night skies, morning...
, Ludwig Richter, Georg Baselitz
Georg Baselitz
Georg Baselitz is a German painter who studied in the former East Germany, before moving to what was then the country of West Germany...
and Johannes Heisig
Johannes Heisig
Johannes Heisig is a German painter and graphic artist. His work combines the tradition of German socialist realism with a subjective expressionism...
. The collection of Käthe Kollwitz
Käthe Kollwitz
Käthe Kollwitz was a German painter, printmaker, and sculptor whose work offered an eloquent and often searing account of the human condition in the first half of the 20th century...
was started in 1898 and now numbers over 200 works from her oeuvre of drawings and graphics.
Besides the permanent exhibition, the Kupferstichkabinett also hosts regular special exhibitions featuring both its own works and those on loan from other notable museums.
External links
- Kupferstichkabinett Homepage of the Dresden State Art Collections