2008 - Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden

Opening of the exhibition “Unter Göttern und Menschen”
(Among Gods and Men) on 3rd November 2008: (from left to
right) Antonio Muñoz Molina, Spanish Minister for Culture;
His Majesty King Juan Carlos I of Spain; Dr. Stephan Schröder,
Curator at the Museo Nacional del Prado, and Dr. Moritz Woelk,
Director of the Skulpturensammlung
museum level are the exchange of information and collaboration
for the purpose of conservation. This is where
the skills of the museums lie, quite apart from questions
of international law which can only be solved at government
level. Nevertheless, in cases of restitution claims the
government makes use of the expertise and contacts of
the Directors and curators of the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen
Dresden. Wolfgang Holler, for example, is a
member of the German-Ukrainian Governmental Commission
on questions concerning the return of cultural
assets displaced in Kiev as a result of the war, and Martin
Roth has been engaged for years in discussions with
museum colleagues and politicians at various levels
concerning the return of looted art. His engagement is
evident, for example, in the successful research and exchange
programme entitled “Art Transfer”, which is
funded by the Getty Foundation and which deals with
cultural relations between Germany and Russia since the
17th century, as well as in his active participation in the
initiative “Deutsch-Russischer Museumsdialog” (German-
Russian Museum Dialogue) or in the systematic registration
of the entire holdings of the art collections through
“Daphne” – a large-scale project which combines both
scientific analysis and provenance research.
At the beginning of November, the Spanish head of
state, His Majesty King Juan Carlos I opened an exhibition
by the Dresden Skulpturensammlung at the Museo Nacional
del Prado in Madrid, an event which attracted a
great deal of media attention. Forty-six masterpieces from
the Dresden antiquities collection were presented alongside
classical sculptures from the holdings of the Museo
Nacional del Prado. The Spanish press was jubilant and
Opening of the exhibition “Unter Göttern und Menschen” (Among Gods and Men) on 3rd November 2008:
(from left to right) His Excellency Dr. Wolf-Ruthart Born, German Ambassador to Spain; Charo Otegui, President
of SEAC EX; Plácido Arango, President of the Board of the Museo Nacional del Prado; Antonio Muñoz
Molina, Cultural Minister of Spain; Prof. Dr. Martin Roth, Director-General of the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen
Dresden; Duque de Soria, President of the Society of Friends of the Museo Nacional del Prado
published full-page articles praising the fact that major
works of classical sculpture which had previously been
displayed together in collections in Rome had been reunited
for the first time in 300 years. The exhibition was
prepared as part of a research project funded by the Ernst
von Siemens Art Foundation concerning the holdings of
the Dresden antiquities collection. The research team, in
which a number of international institutions are represented,
also includes the Museo Nacional del Prado. The
scientific investigation of the sculptures and their common
origin was associated with an extensive restoration
programme lasting several years, which is why in many
respects it has been possible to present the sculptures in
a new light in this exhibition.
The throngs of visitors in Madrid are grateful to the
organisers of this “Summit Meeting in Marble” – as it was
dubbed by the Sächsische Zeitung. The German journalists
who travelled to Madrid for the opening ceremony are
looking forward to the visit by the gods – as are also the
Dresden newspapers. The exhibition will go on show in the
Japanisches Palais in Dresden on 20th May 2009.
A few days after the exhibition opening in Madrid, it was
the turn of the Galerie Neue Meister. An exhibition went
on display at the State Hermitage, St. Petersburg, presenting
50 works by important artists from the period 1800 to
1940 which represent the range of the Dresden collection
from the Romantic period to Neue Sachlichkeit. Martin
Roth wishes this exhibition, too, to be seen as a sign of
gratitude, because 50 years ago many works of art which
had been transported to the USSR in the wake of the
Second World War were returned by the Soviet government
under Khrushchev. Without the return of these objects, the
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