2008 - Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden

View of the Tapestry Hall during the colloquium
“Gerettet – die Restaurierung der großen Formate
nach der Flut 2002” (Saved – The Restoration of the
Large-Format Paintings after the Flood of 2002)
52 sELECTED REsTORATiON
PROjECTs
gemäldegalerie Alte meister
• Colloquium
»Gerettet – die Restaurierung der großen
Formate nach der Flut 2002« (Saved – The
Restoration of the Large-Format Paintings
after the Flood of 2002)
This specialist colloquium, held on 4th
February 2008, was organised by the restoration
workshop of the Gemäldegalerie
Alte Meister and the Galerie Neue Meister
of the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden
in collaboration with the Saxon section
of the Verband der Restauratoren
Deutschlands (German Restorers’ Association),
and was the high point in the programme
of events accompanying the exhibition
of the same name. It was
attended by more than 150 restorers from
all the German-speaking countries, with
participants coming to Dresden from
Hamburg, Berlin, Munich, Prague and Vienna.
The conservational and restorative
challenges faced and the innovative solutions
that were found for carrying out the
delicate work on flood-damaged paintings
and frames were presented in 13 specialist
talks and could be assessed directly
by inspecting the originals in the exhibition.
The colloquium was given a positive
•
Giovanni Antonio Canal, called Canaletto, At the Mouth of the Canal Grande, 1722/23,
detail before and after restoration, Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister
evaluation both by the participating specialists
and by the media.
The fifth exhibition in the series
»Das Restaurierte Meisterwerk«
(The Restored Masterpiece)
From 10th May until 31st August 2008 the
Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister showed the
cabinet exhibition “Canaletto – Ansichten
vom Canal Grande in Venedig” (Canaletto
– Views of the Canal Grande in Venice).
The exhibition was accompanied by a
wide-ranging programme of events in the
spheres of art history and museum education,
conducted in association with the
Dresden Volkshochschule (adult education
centre). The focal point of the exhibition
was the restoration of two views of
the Canal Grande and investigations concerning
the artist’s painting technique.
Showcases and wall panels provided visitors
with insights into the procedures involved
in restoration and into the process
by which a painting is produced; X-ray im-
ages and infrared reflectography revealed
changes to the composition carried out by
Canaletto himself and photos of microsamples
prepared as cross-sections
showed Canaletto’s early painting technique.
Evening talks given in the Tapestry Hall
and well-attended Kunstgespräche directly
in front of the paintings gave participants
the opportunity to discuss specialist
questions in a relaxed atmosphere.
• Empress Maria Theresia
Major preparatory work was undertaken
for the exhibition “Wunschbilder. Sehnsucht
und Wirklichkeit. Malerei des 18.
Jahrhunderts für Dresden” (Ideals. Yearning
and Reality. Eighteenth-century Painting
for Dresden), which opened in February
2009 at the time of the retirement of
the long-serving Director of the Gemäldegalerie
Alte Meister, Prof. Dr. Harald Marx,
and which covers the entire ground floor
of the Semperbau. Thorough restoration