2009 - Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden

Campaign
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Page 34: Detail from Canaletto’s painting
”Dresden from the Right Bank of the Elbe with the
Augustus Bridge” (1748): under UV light the extent
of retouching and overpainting becomes visible.
A CONCERtED EFFORt
“FOR CANALEttO” – AN ICON IC
IMAGE OF DRESDEN N EEDS H ELP!
MUSEIS SAXONICIS USUI – the Society of Friends of the
Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden – initiated its campaign
“For Canaletto” in 2009. The famous painting held in
the Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister entitled “Dresden from
the Right Bank of the Elbe with the Augustus Bridge” (1748)
by Bernardo Bellotto, called Canaletto – after whom the
“Canaletto View” is named – is in need of restoration. After
more than 200 years of being on public display, traces of old
restoration work are visible, spoiling the overall impression
of the picture. In order to ensure the long-lasting restoration
of the painting on the basis of scientific investigations and
in order to collect the necessary financial resources for this,
the Friends of the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden
initiated a fund-raising campaign.
The campaign specifically targets people wishing to give
small and very small donations, for the painting is an
iconic image and is close to the hearts of many Dresden
residents and visitors to the city. At the press conference
held to mark the launch of the campaign on 1 st September
2009, the Chair of the Executive Committee, Herbert Süß,
was able to report that the sum of approximately € 10,000
had already been donated by sponsors and members in
order to “set a good example”.
A number of different events raised public awareness of
the campaign “For Canaletto” and publicised the work of
the Society of Friends of the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen
Dresden. In an initial campaign to gather donations, cash
The leaflet appealing for donations
(by Ketchum Pleon) “For Canaletto”
uses visual means to underline the
painting’s need for restoration.
Pupils of the school “Evangelisches
Kreuzgymnasium
Dresden” designed postcards
for the fundraising campaign
collecting boxes were placed in nearly 400 Dresden shops.
Bakeries, bookshops, car dealers and many other retailers
supported the campaign in this way. Prominent supporters,
including chamber singer René Pape, the artist Georg
Baselitz and the writer Uwe Tellkamp, are collaborating
with the Society of Friends in order to ensure the painting’s
restoration. Regular reports about the campaign have been
published in the media.
The chamber orchestra “Concerto Bellotto” and the soloist
Britta Schwarz have agreed to lend their support to the
restoration campaign. This gave rise to the idea of a charity
concert “For Canaletto” in the exhibition “Georg
Baselitz. Women of Dresden”.
The Young Friends – all members up to the age of 35 –
dedicated their Jour Fixe in October to the “Canaletto
View”. They enjoyed a fascinating evening with the head
of the restoration workshop, Prof. Marlies Giebe, as well
as Dr. Andreas Henning, Curator of Italian Paintings, and
Sabine Bendfeldt, restorer. They demonstrated on the
painting itself how x-ray analysis and UV fluorescence
observation can be used to assess the state of preservation.
Those areas which have already been exposed provide an
indication of the original bright cool colours of Canaletto’s
veduta.
The fundraising campaign will be continued until mid-
2010. The efforts “For Canaletto” will require large financial
resources and a high degree of engagement in order to
ensure the restoration of the “Canaletto View”. The aim is
to find committed supporters of the campaign “For Canaletto”
and turn them into friends and sponsors of the
Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden.
www.fuer-canaletto.de
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