2008 - Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden

2004: Opening of the exhibition “The Glory of Baroque Dresden” with Federal
Chancellor Gerhard Schröder, Prime Minister of Saxony Prof. Dr. Georg Milbradt
and Prof. Dr. Martin Roth (from right to left)
18 ThE sTAATLiChE kUNsTsAmmLUNgEN
DREsDEN iN iNTERNATiONAL DiALOgUE
The Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden have been a
repository of artistic and cultural treasures for centuries. In
2010 they will be celebrating their 450th anniversary. They
are more internationally oriented than almost any other
museum institution in Germany. As one of the most renowned
cultural institutions in the country, this association
of eleven museums is seen throughout the world as a
cultural ambassador, as a mediator not only of German but
of European cultural history. For the Dresden collections
have always been profoundly European in character but at
the same time focused on the perception and exploration
of the world. Whether we speak of the fashion for ‘chinoiserie’
in the 17th and 18th centuries, which is still evident in
Dresden today, or of the fascination of August the Strong
for the France of Louis XIV and its artistic influences, or of
the captivating allure of oriental art and culture, which
visitors will again be able to experience from the end of
2009, when the “Türckische Cammer” (Turkish Chamber) is
due to open in the Residenzschloss – international connections
and references are to be found in abundance in
Dresden. The city of art was open to outside influences and,
conversely, European art owes much to the artists who over
the ages worked in or were shaped by the city, including
many who had come here from abroad. The museums in
the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden preserve works
of distinction among the visual arts of Europe.
2005: Opening of the exhibition “Princely Splendour. The Dresden Court 1580 –
1692” with (from left to right) Lord George Weidenfeld, Lord Jacob Rothschild,
Prof. Dr. Hubert Burda and Prof. Dr. Martin Roth
Thus, when the art collections present this cultural heritage
not only to their international guests in Dresden but
around the world, holding exhibitions, collaborating in
international scientific partnerships and attending congresses
and conferences, they are fulfilling an obligation
that arises out of tradition. They are supported in these
endeavours by the government of Saxony and the German
federal government. Heads of government and ministers
at both federal state and national level are usually present
at major events held abroad.
In justification of the international engagement of the
Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden, Prof. Dr. Martin
Roth refers to the European dimension of the history of
this association of museums. “The assets in Dresden which
are now counted as part of the world’s cultural heritage
are there thanks to the free, open-minded spirit of all those
who created the works of art and those who built up these
collections over the centuries. They saw art as international
and knew no boundaries, neither geographical nor
intellectual or cultural ones. It is not least for this reason
that two million people a year now visit our eleven museums
in Dresden and find works of art that bear testimony
to a global culture”.
Martin Roth considers it important that the Staatliche
Kunstsammlungen Dresden should establish contacts with
people in other countries. He continues: “Over the past few
years we have presented our visiting card in the form of
numerous exhibitions abroad and have consciously drawn
attention to Dresden’s art treasures. These carefully prepared
thematic exhibitions have emphasised the international
character of the Dresden collections. It is important