Literally every city in Germany has, so to speak, its signature dish in the cultural sense of the word. And the signature dish of Dresden is the Dresden Gallery. The Dresden Gallery, or as it is also called the Old Masters Gallery, is a historical cultural center, which contains a huge number of pictures of old masters of exceptional quality. This gallery belongs to the State Art Collections of Dresden.
The Dresden Art Gallery was created in the early 18th century as a collection of works of art. The founders were the Saxon Electors. This was during the time of the Polish kings Augustus the Second and Augustus the Third. The collection quickly replenished with new masterpieces.
Especially important for the gallery is the year 1746, when a hundred real masterpieces were acquired for the collection thanks to the financial support of Francesco Algarotti. The popularity of the gallery grew every year, and already in 1747 the collection moved to a new building, specially built for the gallery.
Only in the 19th century for the gallery was built the building in which the center of the arts is located now. The project for the building was developed and recreated by the brilliant architect Gottfried Semper. The building was part of the Zwinger ensemble, and was completed in 1855.
The structure suffered significantly during the Second World War, when Dresden was bombed in February 1945. Fortunately, numerous paintings were taken out on time from the city and preserved intact. Paintings that were not removed and suffered after the war were transferred to the Soviet Union for restoration. In 1956, the Dresden Gallery received its paintings back. The building of the art gallery was also restored and opened to the public.
Today, the Dresden Gallery is a huge collection of world masterpieces, among which there is a collection of European artists of the 15-17 century, which attracts many art lovers from around the world. Also among the collections of the gallery are works of artists such as Van Dyck, Titian, Rubens, Giorgione and other equally famous authors. The highlight of the gallery, no doubt, is the Sistine Madonna of Raphael.
A visit to the Dresden Art Gallery is an immersion in the history of art from different periods, different nations and authors. This is a unique place that will be interesting to all tourists.
