Bernardo Bellotto

In the first half of the eighteenth century, the architectural and cultural landscape of Dresden underwent a radical transformation. Focused on making the city into a major European capital, the Saxon rulers commissioned ambitious architectural projects and assembled a remarkable number of foreign artists at the court. Bellotto arrived in Dresden in 1747, bringing with him the Venetian tradition of vedute, or highly detailed topographical views. In this work, the viewer gazes from the right bank of the Elbe River toward the Augustus Bridge and the Old Town. The Dresden Castle, where the Kupferstich-Kabinett is located today, can be seen on the far right of the image, behind the newly built Dresden Cathedral. The only print included in the exhibition, this view conveys the splendor of Dresden during the decades shortly after the official establishment of the Kupferstich-Kabinett.