The Old Masters Gallery, which is located in Dresden, Germany, is also known as the Dresden Picture Gallery. Here are collections of true works of art that were created by famous artists of the Renaissance and Baroque periods.

History of the Old Masters Gallery

The Dresden Art Gallery began its history in the 18th century when Augustus II the Strong and Augustus III were at the head of state. The collection grew each year and in 1740, thanks to the cooperation of F. Algarotti, was able to exhibit one hundred works at once, which immediately made the Dresden Gallery world-famous.

In the 19th century a new building was built for the gallery, which is part of the Zwinger complex. During the bombing of Dresden during World War II, the gallery building was also damaged, but most of the paintings were saved. After the war was over, the surviving paintings were sent to the Soviet Union for restoration.

Dresden Art Gallery

Among the galleries of the world that contain works painted in the fourteenth and eighteenth centuries, the Old Masters Gallery is the most visited. Among the works created in the 18th century, the works of Giovanni Canal hold a special place, who depicted views of Dresden of that time with almost photographic precision in his paintings.

Another unique collection is the Flemish Baroque works. The Dresden Gallery presents to the attention of art lovers 15 paintings by Rembrandt. Also the most famous artists who worked in this field of painting are Rubens, Dürer and Hans Holbein. The works of these prominent representatives of the Flemish Baroque are widely represented in the Dresden Gallery.

In the Old Masters Gallery one can also see works by representatives of the English and Spanish schools of the 17th and 18th centuries. And the French school of painting of the 17th century is represented by Nicolas Poussin and his famous painting “The Kingdom of Flora”.

It is noteworthy that the Dresden Art Gallery does not strive for modernity and does not change the principle of placing paintings that has developed over the years and does not even want to change the antique frames of paintings.

Famous works in the gallery

Many works by great artists are collected here, including Titian, Van Dyck, Rubens and Giorgione. And the most valuable piece of art in the Dresden gallery is considered to be the magnificent “Sistine Madonna”, created by the great Raphael. Giorgione’s “The Sleeping Venus” is no less famous. The collection of pastels, especially Jean-Etienne Lyotard’s Chocolatier, cannot be overlooked.

The great Dutch painter Jacob van Reisdal is the author of The Jewish Cemetery, which in allegorical form shows the existence of man on earth, its frailty. The Old Masters Gallery has the largest number of paintings by this artist in comparison to other galleries in Germany.

Among the works by Antonis van Dyck are placed here – “Lady in black in front of the red portier”, “The gentleman in black in front of the column”, as well as images of the children of Charles I, who at that time was the king of England.