Albertinum (Dresden)

Albertinum

The Albertinum is located at the eastern end of the Brühl Terrace in Dresden . Its origin is an armory (weapons), which in the late 19th century by Carl Adolph Canzler turned into a museum building. The name Albertinum goes back to King Albert of Saxony , who ruled at the end of the 19th century .

After another renovation with the addition of a depot and workshop complex, the Albertinum has again housed the sculpture collection (until 2019) and the New Masters Gallery of the Dresden State Art Collections since 2010 .

history

Electoral armory

The Albertinum goes back to a Renaissance building from the 16th century. In the course of the expansion and redesign of the Dresden city fortifications based on the Italian-Dutch model from 1546, Duke Moritz von Sachsen was thinking of building an armory. The building was built between 1559 and 1563 under his successor, Elector August, based on designs by Caspar Voigt von Wierandt . Soon the Dresden armory was one of the largest and most famous in Europe and was one of the most important Renaissance buildings in Dresden.

The changed taste of the time as well as changed spatial requirements resulted in structural changes in the 18th century. In 1705 August the Strong made the first extensions. In 1740, his son, Elector Friedrich August II , initiated a major renovation. The facade was given a restrained baroque shape. During the Seven Years' War (1756–1763) Prussian troops looted the armory but left the building intact. After a new arsenal in Dresden's Albertstadt was completed in 1877 , the armory lost its original use.

From the armory to the museum

In 1884, the Saxon state parliament decided to house the collection of antiques and casts (from 1887 the sculpture collection) and the main state archive in the armory. The master builder Carl Adolph Canzler was commissioned with the renovation. He provided the building with sandstone facades, which were based on buildings from the Italian High Renaissance, and placed the entrance to the sculpture collection in the north wing on Brühl's terrace. The building, completed in 1889, was named Albertinum in honor of King Albert (ruled 1873–1902) . The cast collection opened on the second floor in 1891, and in 1894 the collection of original sculptures was expanded to include contemporary sculptures. Around 1900, under the direction of archaeologist Georg Treu , the constantly expanding collection of sculptures in the Albertinum was regarded as a unique museum on the history of sculpture. The architecture and the presentation of the collection of antiques and casts were the model for the new Moscow Museum of Fine Arts, which is now the State Museum of Fine Arts AS Pushkin .

The Albertinum was badly damaged in the bombing of Dresden in 1945 . The second floor, the roof, the main staircase and the atrium burned out, with paintings by Hermann Prell being lost. Art treasures in the Dresden museums were transferred to the Soviet Union after the end of World War II and did not return until the 1950s. From 1959, due to the lack of space, the Albertinum not only took part of the sculpture collection. Excerpts from the porcelain collection , the Kupferstich-Kabinett , the Münzkabinett , the Grünes Gewölbe and the Historical Museum (now the Armory ) were also accommodated on an interim basis . In 1965 the Gemäldegalerie Neue Meister (now the Galerie Neue Meister ) also moved in. As of June 2004, the coin cabinet and the green vault gradually returned to the residential palace , which was completed in stages .

Development since 2002

"An ark for art"

The east portal of the Albertinum (2006)

When the Elbe floods in August 2002 , water penetrated the underground storage rooms. The modern security depots under the Zwinger and Theaterplatz , where paintings by old masters were stored, were also flooded beforehand. During the largest art rescue operation in peacetime, many helpers managed to protect and recover the valuable paintings, sculptures and documents stored there. " Bellotto no longer comes into the aquarium", stated Martin Roth , General Director of the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden at the time, and thus summed up his demand for a flood-proof storage facility: "It is important that the treasures in our storage facilities are no longer stored underground and that way a new flood. ”Nationally and internationally recognized German artists such as Gerhard Richter and Georg Baselitz donated 46 works that were auctioned off in Berlin in 2002. Around 3.4 million euros came together as the foundation stone for the renovation and renovation of the Albertinum.

From January 2006 to June 18, 2010 the Albertinum was closed for renovation and reconstruction. According to a design by the Berlin architects Staab , an “ark for art” was also created 17 meters above the building's inner courtyard. This steel half-timbered construction - similar to a bridge - is supported by an elevator shaft and two pillars that remain hidden from visitors to the Albertinum. Two new floors were created with a total area of ​​around 3,450 m², in which depots and workshops of the Dresden State Art Collections were set up. Daylight enters the courtyard through a light gap between the original building parts and the new building. The historical monument remains completely untouched. A new visitor entrance at Georg-Treu-Platz also shortens the way to the Zwinger, Residenzschloss and the newly built quarters around the Frauenkirche . It complements the existing entrance on Brühl's Terrace. The Free State of Saxony invested a total of 45 million euros.

Museum of Modernism

The atrium in the Albertinum

After reopening in June 2010, the Albertinum presents itself as a museum of modernity with a completely new concept. The “Galerie Neue Meister” and the sculpture collection returned to the building and are concentrating their exhibition on art of the 19th and 20th centuries as well as the present. Works that have not been exhibited so far are now also shown. The collection of ancient sculptures has been on view in the Sempergalerie am Zwinger since 2020 .

Sculpture collection

The sculpture collection in the Albertinum shows works of classical modernism and sculpture after 1945. The exhibition begins with pieces by the French sculptor Auguste Rodin (1840–1917). This opposed the prevailing academicism and tried out new forms of representation. He is also considered a pioneer for a variety of styles that emerged in the 20th century. Art in the GDR is dealt with in a special way with works by Wieland Förster , Werner Stötzer and Helmut Heinze .

New Masters Gallery

The tour of the Neue Meister gallery opens with the pioneer of modernism, Caspar David Friedrich (1774–1840). He is the most important German romantic artist. Friedrich was followed in chronological order by other romantics ( Carl Gustav Carus , Johan Christian Clausen Dahl , Ludwig Richter ), French and German impressionists ( Claude Monet , Edgar Degas , Max Liebermann , Max Slevogt ), expressionists ( Otto Dix ) with the artists of Dresden Artist community Brücke ( Ernst Ludwig Kirchner , Karl Schmidt-Rottluff ) as well as representatives of the Dresden Secession ( Bernhard Kretzschmar , Carl Lohse ). The tour ends with Gerhard Richter . For the first time, a room is also dedicated to the artists AR Penck and Georg Baselitz .

facts and figures

• Total area of ​​the Albertinum: approx. 13,690 m²
• Exhibition space: total approx. 4,480 m², of which exhibition sculpture collection approx. 1,980 m², Galerie Neue Meister approx. 2,500 m²
• Depot: total approx. 4,480 m², of which exhibition sculpture collection approx. 1,980 m², Galerie Neue Meister approx. 2,500 m²
• Workshops: total approx. 1,500 m², of which new in the Arche area, 1st floor approx. 1,145 m²
• Client: Free State of Saxony, State Enterprise Saxon Real Estate and Construction Management (SIB)
• New depot and workshop building: Weight: 2700 t, length: 72 m, width: 24 m, height above the inner courtyard of the Albertinum: 17 m, total area approx. 3,450 m² on two floors
• Other renovation and renovation measures: renovation of the facades, the roof and the exhibition areas, barrier-free renovation and redesign of the foyer and access areas, security systems.

literature

• Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden, Staatsbetrieb Sächsisches Immobilien- und Baumanagement (Ed.): The new Albertinum: an ark for art. New depot and renovation in the Albertinum - a project outline. Dresden 2007.
• Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden (ed.) / Gudrun Elsner, Kordelia Knoll (ed.): The Albertinum 100 years ago - the Georg Treus sculpture collection. Dresden 1994. (Catalog book for the exhibition).

Web links

Commons : Albertinum  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• State Art Collections Dresden - Albertinum

Individual evidence

1. ^ Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden, Staatsbetrieb Sächsisches Immobilien- und Baumanagement (ed.): The new Albertinum: an ark for art. New depot and renovation in the Albertinum - a project outline. Dresden 2007, p. 11.

Coordinates: 51 ° 3 ′ 7 ″  N , 13 ° 44 ′ 40 ″  E