ANNUAL REPORT 2012 Powered by IN THE TRADITION OF THE COLLECTION OF THE HOUSE OF WETTIN A.L. Lipsiusbau Residenzschloss Jägerhof Page 5 Page 17 TEMPOrarY Foreword The Kupferstich-Kabinett and EXHIBITIONS contemporary artists: Gert and Uwe Tobias in Dresden Page 27 IN FOCUS Exhibitions in Dresden, Saxony, and throughout Germany Page 7 THE CHANGING faCE A celebration for the most OF AN INSTITUTION Page 44 beautiful woman in the world: Exhibitions abroad 500 years of the Page 19 “Sistine Madonna” On the appointment of Dr. Hartwig Fischer as NEWS FROM Page 10 Director-General THE COLLECTIONS Art wants criticism: Tasks – current and pending In the network of modernism Page 23 Page 47 Page 13 The Albertinum: a meeting Acquisitions and donations From Herrnhut to the world: place for the arts the Völkerkundemuseum unveiled Page 53 Page 24 Publications Page 14 New at the Albertinum: Art treasures between Page 57 a “study depot” for the Orient and Occident: Restorations ancient world the Moscow Kremlin takes up temporary residency in Dresden Page 25 Move after 53 years: Page 15 the Rüstkammer leaves Gerhard Richter: ATLAS the Semper Building Zwingerhof, view of Kronentor Japanisches Palais and Wallpavillon GRASSI Museum Leipzig SCIENCE AND VISITORS NEWS IN BriEF RESEARCH Page 81 Page 92 Page 63 Ambassadors of art Research projects and Page 82 partnerships MUSEUM BUILDINGS In the network of the media Page 67 Page 84 Page 97 Provenance, research, A case study: “The most Immense and accessible – and restitution beautiful woman in the world” – building work from Herrnhut marketing and visitor services to Wermsdorf WiTH GENEROUS Page 86 Colours are the joy of life – SUPPORT museum education in 2012 PROSPECTS Page 71 Page 88 Page 103 Friends’ associations The year of the Madonna – Temporary exhibitions for 2013 visitor figures Page 76 Official sponsors and patrons CONTACT PAGES FINANCIAL DATA Page 106 Page 90 Institutions Page 108 Imprint 4 FOREWORD of course, it is essential. Being able to make a contribution 5 to this process of development is one of the greatest and most rewarding tasks for any museum professional and, Preserve and transform since my appointment as Director-General of the Staatliche Over the course of its long history, the Staatliche Kunst- Kunstsammlungen in May 2012, I am proud and privileged sammlungen Dresden has undergone several transforma- to be in a position to do exactly that with a team of such tions before becoming what it is today: one of the most excellent and dedicated staff around me. important museum associations in Europe. Its evolution Museums form connections: between works, between process saw the collections of the Kunstkammer, or scholars, between people. A museum thrives on the visitors “cabinet of art” and the royal armouries of the 16th that flock to its doors and who explore the works inside century undergo a period of great expansion and diver- – whether they are treasured objects that they have seen sification under the reign of August the Strong and his before or new ones they are encountering for the first time. son August III in the 18th century, followed by the emer- The museum thrives on the conversation that its collection gence of the modern public museum in the 19th and 20th displays and temporary exhibitions inspire; it thrives on century and, most recently, a period of sudden and rapid the open dialogue with the public – a public that is ever expansion after 1990 in the resurrected heart of the re- more nuanced and diverse in terms of age, ethnic back- gional capital, with its many monuments, including the ground, education, and nationality and which comes to Zwinger, the Sempergalerie, the Albertinum, the Japanis- the museum in search of insight and inspiration, in search ches Palais, and the Residenzschloss. In 2010, the Staatli- of fresh ideas and answers to a new set of contemporary che Ethnographische Sammlungen Sachsen became the questions. The museum thrives by nurturing our critical newest addition to the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen. This appreciation of the works. It therefore stands to reason development marks a further enrichment of our um- that if it is to thrive successfully, the museum must convey brella institution, primarily in terms of its scope, as it not the often extremely specialized research conducted behind only opens itself up to the cultures of the world, but also the scenes that is so crucial to its development in a clear expands to encompass new locations in Leipzig, Dresden, and concise way for everyone to grasp. and Herrnhut. And by doing so, the Staatliche Kunst- The following pages are both a recap of the major events sammlungen Dresden also opens itself up to the new and developments of 2012 and an outlook on our forthcom- tasks and challenges that the preservation and display of ing prospects. ethnographic collections entail. To accomplish its mission, the Staatliche Kunstsammlun- Hartwig Fischer gen will, in coming years, continue to evolve and change Director-General of the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen – indeed in many areas this change is not merely a matter Dresden In focus Previous page: “Sistine Madonna”, Raffaello Sanzio (Raphael), 1512/13, in its new frame, Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister Prof. Dr. Bernhard Maaz, Director of the Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, Gerlind Rößler, Dr. Matthias Rößler, Saxon Landtag President, Mirka Hoof, Joachim Hoof, CEO of Ostsächsische Sparkasse Dresden, Elena Valensise, Helma Orosz, Mayor, Dr. Andreas Henning, curator of the exhibition, Takeshi Nakane, Japanese ambassador, Veronika Tillich, Stanislaw Tillich, Minister-President, Dr. Hartwig Fischer, Director-General of the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden, Apostolic Nuncio to Germany, Archbishop Jean- Claude Périsset, standing in front of the “Sistine Madonna” in the Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister A CELEBraTION FOR THE MOST of presentation were not the only reasons why the paint- 7 BEAUTifUL WOMAN IN ing proved a radiant spectacle. Several other factors played a part, including a different glass and a new frame, built THE WORLD: 500 YEARS OF THE especially for the occasion. The new pane, which does not “SISTINE MaDONNA” produce the slight green tint of ordinary glass, grants the viewer a more genuine and clearer view of the Madonna. This new, fresher visual experience is heightened by the In the summer of 1512, Pope Julius II commissioned Raph- new frame. It replaces the previous neo-Renaissance frame ael to paint an altarpiece for the basilica of the monastery that had bordered the painting since 1956. of San Sisto in Piacenza. What the master Raphael then The aim of the exhibition was to show the renowned cult went on to produce was nothing less than one of the most image within the broader context of the history of its crea- beautiful and important works of art of the High Renais- tion, display, and reception. The exhibition brought to- sance and one of the most famous paintings in the world gether more than 250 exhibits, including such high-profile today: the “Sistine Madonna”. But despite its breath-taking loans as the “Donna Velata” (ca. 1512/13) from the Palatine artistic quality, for about the first 250 years of its existence Gallery in Florence, the “Garvagh Madonna” (ca. 1510) from it remained largely unknown. It was only when it was the National Gallery in London, and a cartoon for a section brought to Dresden, after lengthy negotiations initiated of the fresco “The Expulsion of Heliodorus from the Temple” by August III, that Raphael’s Madonna entered its second, (ca. 1512) from the Pinacoteca Vaticana. Added to these were public phase of its history that would make the Virgin and many other masterpieces of the Italian Renaissance, such her two mischievous cherubic companions famous around as the drawing “Maria in the Mandorla with Apostles and the world. For the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden Pope Sixtus IV (Kneeling)” from the Albertina in Vienna, as (SKD), the painting is a jewel in the crown of its collection well as a Madonna by Filippino Lippi (ca. 1475) from the and has come to symbolize the quality and international Szépmüvészeti Museum in Budapest. The first chapter of renown of the Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister as a whole. the exhibition thus documented how the “Sistine Ma- It is entirely befitting then that this most singular work donna” fitted in with other works from Raphael’s Roman of art was honoured on the 500th anniversary of its crea- period and with those of his contemporaries. tion last year in a major exhibition (Gemäldegalerie Alte The second chapter took an in-depth look at the paint- Meister, 26 May to 26 August 2012). The “Sistine Madonna” ing’s acquisition by August III. It took two years of pro- left her traditional place on the first floor of the Semper tracted negotiations before the Saxon elector was finally Building and was put on display in the Gobelinsaal on the able to purchase the “Sistine Madonna” for the Dresden ground floor. However, this change of scene and manner collection in 1754. His legendary remark upon the painting’s Exhibition curator Dr. Andreas Henning with Dr. Heike Kramer, Director and Head of Social Engagement and Event Management at Deutsche Sparkassen und Giroverband, Dr. Hartwig Fischer, Director-General and Prof. Dr. Bernhard Maaz, Director of the Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister 211,428 visitors were recorded in the exhibition »Donna Velata«, 1512/13, Raphael 8 arrival (“Make way for the great Raphael!”) became the In all this one should, however, not overlook the fact that subject of a pastel drawing (1855/59) of the same name by the image of the Madonna and Infant was not the only Adolph Menzel, which was also on show in the exhibition. subject in the painting to gain international fame. Just as These works of art were enriched by several previously popular are her companions: the two, at times dreamily unshown documents from the Sächsisches Hauptstaat- melancholic, at times cheekily ironic cherubs at the very sarchiv (state archives) in Dresden, the Biblioteca Passerini bottom of the picture.