Buzási Enikő szerk.: In Europe' Princely Courts, Ádám Mányoki, Actors and venues of a portraitist's career (A Magyar Nemzeti Galéria kiadványai 2003/1)
Harald Marx: "THE LUCKY STAR OF PAINTING HAS RISEN" Painting and Art Patronage in Dresden under Augustus the Strong and Augustus III
Harald Marx "THE LUCKY STAR OF PAINTING HAS RISEN" Painting and art patronage in Dresden under Augustus the Strong and Augustus III "WHERE EARTHLY GODS MAY FIND ASYLUM" Painting during the reign of Augustus the Strong "Apparently, the lucky star of painting has risen since Augustus II ascended the Polish throne and showed appreciation for, often regally rewarding, the artists [...] the prospect of glory and prizes spurred the artists on to a laudable rivalry, which was beneficial to painting. Now we at last are acquainted with the works, although few have won the honour of being displayed in the electoral gallery." 1 Not only in Johann Christian Hasche's days, but also today, the Dresden Baroque has often been regarded as the achievement of the Augustan age, that is, the first half of the 18 th century. In 1744, Carl Christian Schramm wrote: "As the most invaluable jewel of Germany, this royal and electoral capital and residence, Dresden, displays in perfect harmony all the sumptuous buildings, valuable ornaments, rich treasures, extraordinary rarities and all sorts of wonderful things that can only be seen in great Paris. This precious gem, as the most dazzling jewel, is surrounded by the most beautiful sights of nature and art, proving to the whole world that Dresden is the only place where earthly gods may find asylum." 2 Within a few decades' time, political upgrading and architectural transformation converted the electoral seat of the Wettins into a royal town, which flaunted an extravagant household and sponsored festivities lasting for weeks. But the rulers' interest in art and music also contributed to Dresden's rise to a special rank among the German centres. Art collection and patronage were intertwined, and already in the mid-18 th century, painting in Dresden was inseparable from the Dresden Gallery, although few painters of Dresden "won the honour of being displayed in the electoral gallery." In relation to the Baroque of Dresden and the 18 th century in general, one immediately thinks of architecture and sculpture, as well as works of decorative art - the Zwinger, Johann Melchior Dinglinger's works in gold and the masterpieces of the Meissen porcelain manufactory - rather than painting, the achievements of which have rarely been summarised. In addition to raising questions, this paper aims to clarify what it is that painters added to the Baroque of Dresden and how wide the spectrum of art creation was apart from the well-known names. Although Dresden had become a royal town, the king spent most months in Warsaw, paying only short visits to the River Elbe to convene the national assembly, stage magnificent festivals, launch construction projects, or have works collected. He would then return to Poland, entrusting Saxony to a regent. For eight years, from 1711 to 1719, not even the heir to the throne resided in the country. Thus, the rise of its rulers was not advantageous to the town in every regard. But the conversion of Augustus the Strong and Augustus III to Catholicism an outcome of their Polish "alliance," which, however, eventually transformed into genuine religious conviction - decisively influenced the course of artistic development, opening up Dresden to Catholic painters. 3 "In Saxony, painting could only have become known much later, at least I can't name a single notable painter of the 15 th century who exercised this divine art in Dresden." 4 That is how Johann Christian Hasche began his history of Dresden painting in 1784, going on to list the names and works of 16 th-century painters. He devoted particular attention to Lucas Cranach the elder (1472-1553), mentioning his visited to Dresden. More recent research has added much more accurate information about 16 th-century art in Dresden than Hasche could have had access to, and has demonstrated its interrelationship with the development of the town lasting to the end of the Thirty Years' War. 5 The painting of the decades following, during the reign of John George II (1613-1680) and John George III (1647-1691), has not yet been duly explored. The ideas of Baroque art conquered Dresden as late as the mid-17 th century, when artists who had contact with the major achievements of the age in other countries had come to Saxony. In the 1670s-80s, the decisive figure was Samuel Bottschild (1641-1706), who gradually passed on his position to his nephew Heinrich Christoph Fehling (1654-1725), after having collaborated with him on the monumental decoration of the Grosser Garten palace until its completion in 1693. It is hard to define the temporal boundaries of this art historical period, which started with the end of the Thirty Years' War, but in no way came to an abrupt end with the accession of Augustus the Strong in 1694/97. The period itself was not uniform, with a break in the 1670s. The surviving works divulge little of the first two decades of the elector's reign, nor is much more known of painters active in Dresden at the turn of the 17 th and 18 th centuries.
