Van Eyck to Mondrian: 300 Years of Collecting in Dresden

October 22, 2021 through January 23, 2022

Building on the Morgan’s tradition of presenting to the American public distinguished works from outstanding institutions abroad, Van Eyck to Mondrian: 300 Years of Collecting in Dresden focuses on the exceptional drawing collection of the Kupferstich-Kabinett, Dresden. Established by Augustus II the Strong, Elector of Saxony, in 1720, the museum is one of the oldest and finest depositories of works on paper in the world. The Morgan will serve as the sole American venue for this exhibition, which is timed to celebrate the 300th anniversary of the founding of the collection.
 
The exhibition will celebrate pivotal moments and key traditions in the history of European draftsmanship. Most remarkably, it will feature Jan van Eyck’s Portrait of an Elderly Man (ca. 1435–40)—an exceptionally rare drawing by the great Netherlandish Renaissance painter, which has never before traveled to the United States. The Kupferstich-Kabinett’s strength in Northern Renaissance and Baroque drawings will be further showcased through works by Lucas Cranach the Elder, Hans Holbein the Younger, Rembrandt, and Rubens, while the museum’s rich holdings of Southern European works will be represented by Correggio, Bronzino, Sofonisba Anguissola, and others. Among works produced in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, highlights include studies by Caspar David Friedrich, Goya, Käthe Kollwitz, Gustav Klimt, Otto Dix, and Piet Mondrian.

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Van Eyck to Mondrian: 300 Years of Collecting in Dresden was organized by the Kupferstich-Kabinett, Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden and the Morgan Library & Museum, New York.

This exhibition is made possible by an anonymous donor, in memory of Melvin R. Seiden. Generous support is provided by the William Randolph Hearst Fund for Scholarly Research and Exhibitions; the Wolfgang Ratjen Foundation, Liechtenstein; The Christian Humann Foundation; Mr. and Mrs. Clement C. Moore II; Elizabeth and Jean-Marie Eveillard; Jo Carole and Ronald S. Lauder; and the Samuel H. Kress Foundation; with assistance from the Arnhold Family, in memory of Henry H. Arnhold.

This exhibition is also made possible with the kind support of the Consulate General of the Federal Republic of Germany, New York.
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Jan van Eyck (1390–1441), Portrait of an Older Man, ca. 1435–40, silverpoint and goldpoint on white prepared paper. © Kupferstich-Kabinett, Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden, Photography by Herbert Boswank.

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