Ceiling painting in King August II's bedroom in the Dresden residential palace
The ceiling painting in King August II's bedroom in the Dresden Residenzschloss was created by Louis de Silvestre in Paris in 1715 . With the theme “Aurora, awakening the world”, the painting showed the four times of day with Aurora and Luna in the center.
In February 1945 the painting was destroyed in the air raids on Dresden as a result of the fires in the Dresden Residenzschloss .
history
Raymond Leplat , who worked in Saxony, was able to win over the painter Louis de Silvestre to paint the ceiling of the bedroom of Augustus the Strong . He created the painting in Paris in 1715 and brought it to Dresden in 1716. The painting for the bedroom was his first work for Dresden.
description
Some descriptions are cited for the description, first Gustav Otto Müller , who characterizes the theme of the ceiling painting in his work on the forgotten and half-forgotten Dresden artists:
“The picture, which represents the four times of the day with allegorical figures, shows at the end of the room where the bed stood, in a dark cloud, the night with the allegorical figures of sleep, dream, etc. The full moon and fluttering owls complete this part of the Painting with Aurora enthroned on a chariot in the middle, surrounded by Zephyr and the Horen, which pour dew on the earth and awaken the sleeping world with bells and tuba. On the side one sees an armored rider trotting away; it is Hesperus, the evening star. At the other end of the room, the radiant sun god rises to the side on a white four-horse carriage, in the far corner of the room on a white horse Lucifer, the morning star, on the carriage of the goddess of Mörgenröthe is the name: 'L. Silvestre 1715 '"
Cornelius Gurlitt describes the picture in the inventory of Saxon architectural and cultural monuments as follows:
“The middle picture shows some heavy and bright colors. The main character shown is an aurora wreathed with flowers, sitting in a chariot drawn by brown horses. She scatters flowers while geniuses hover around her. A boy with a torch floats ahead of her. Further up, Venus sits with a basket of flowers, surrounded by genii. A youth floats down to her, a wind god flies down, where bats and owls fly in the deep darkness, while a male figure spreads a veil over the moon's ball. A shiny youth is depicted on a mold above the aurora on the hollow. The sun disk rises behind him, in front of which the heads of the four-team can be seen. The whole thing can be seen as an apotheosis of Countess Maria Aurora von Königsmark, who came to Dresden in 1694 and became coadjutor of Quedlinburg in 1698. "
The interpretation of Gurlitt in the inventory of Saxon architectural and cultural monuments is rejected by Harald Marx . He justifies this with the dating from 1715; therefore it could not be the apotheosis of Countess Maria Aurora von Königsmarck .
The "Guide through the former Dresden Residenzschloß and the exhibition August the Strong and His Time" from 1933 also describes the painting:
“In place of the so-called Brandenburg chambers after the great castle fire of 1701, furnished according to the plans of the architect Raymond Leplat. Ceiling, painted on canvas by Luis Silvestre in Paris in 1715: The four times of day, in the middle aurora, the dawn, the walls covered with green velvet, the surfaces with pilaster-like stripes of appliqué, colored gold brocade on red velvet. "
Harald Marx also rejects this interpretation. It could not be about the interpretation of the picture as a representation of the four times of the day. According to Marx, Roger-Armand Weigert was the only one who found the correct interpretation in his catalog of de Silvestre's works: L'Aurore éveillant le monde ; Aurora awakens the world.
Harald Marx describes the painting as follows. In the middle of the picture Aurora, the goddess of the dawn, is depicted, wreathed with flowers and holding a flower garland. She is standing in the splendid carriage pulled by two brown horses. Above her is a winged putti with a torch, which is intended to indicate that Aurora, as the light-bringer, is also represented with a torch. A winged female figure hovers in front of the goddess Aurora, waking the world with a tuba and bell. Another female figure has a pitcher with which she pours dew. It's right next to the wheel of Aurora's car. According to Marx, the two female figures are to be understood as hearing, goddesses of order in nature. They ensure the order of the changing seasons, open and close the gates of heaven and are therefore represented together with Aurora.
Zephyr is depicted below the Aurora's chariot. He is standing by a flower basket that is held by two putti. Zephyr, the southwest wind, is a youth with butterfly wings. He is flanked by his wife Chloris, the "blooming one". Next to this pair are the figures of the other three main winds, Notos, the south wind, Boreas, the north wind and Euros the east wind. Because the goddess of the dawn appears on her float with a breath of wind.
At the end of the room, where the bed used to be, below the group of figures discussed above, there are personifications of sleep and dreams in dark clouds, as well as owls and bats flying around. On the side an armored rider: Hesperus or Noctifier, the evening star.
At the other end of the ceiling painting, the team of Apollo (Helios) with four horses rises between light-flooded clouds in front of the rising sun. From this group of figures only the horse heads can be seen at first. In connection with the rising sun, according to Marx, a youth galloping in clouds, clad only in a waving coat, armed with sword and lance: Phosphorus or Lucifer, the morning star. Because Aurora is married to the titan Asträus, therefore Aurora is not only considered the mother of the winds, but also the mother of Lucifer, the morning star.
A copper engraving from 1719 shows August the Strong's bedroom on the occasion of the Crown Princess' reception on August 17, 1718, including the ceiling painting.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Figure 1/2. Ceiling painting in the “chambre de lit” of King August II in the Dresden residential palace. Aurora, awakening the world. 1715. Partial recordings. Loss of war . In: Harald Marx, The paintings of Louis de Silvestre , Dresden 1975.
- ^ Gustav Otto Müller: Forgotten and half-forgotten Dresden artists of the last century . Hoffmann, Dresden 1895, p. 141 f . ( Digitized version (Berlin University of the Arts) [PDF; 75.3 MB ; accessed on February 20, 2020]).
- ↑ Cornelius Gurlitt: Descriptive representation of the older architectural and art monuments of the Kingdom of Saxony . Issue 21–23: City of Dresden . In commission at CC Meinhold & Söhne, Dresden 1903, p. 379 ( digitized SLUB Dresden ).
- ^ Guide through the former Dresden Residenzschloß and the exhibition August the Strong and His Time , Dresden 1933, p. 40.
- ^ Roger-Armand Weigert: Documents inédits sur Louis de Silvestre, suivis du catalog de son oeuvre. In: Archives de l'art francais. XVIII, Paris 1932, p. 52, work catalog No. 18.
- ^ Fritz Löffler : Das alten Dresden , S. 148 and 169. Illustration 195 [Residenzschloß, the bedroom of August the Strong on the occasion of the reception of the Crown Princess on August 17, 1718, copperplate engraving 1719, copper cabinet].
literature
- Harald Marx: The ceiling pictures for the bedroom and throne room of the Dresden Residenzschloss . In: ders .: On the decorative painting of the 18th century in Saxony . Dissertation University of Halle 1971, pp. 65–70.
