Court Culture in Dresden By the same author TRIUMPHALL SHEWS: Tournaments at German Courts in their European Context, 1580–1730 THE CAMBRIDGE HISTORY OF GERMAN LITERATURE FESTIVALS AND CEREMONIES: A Bibliography of Works Relating to Court, Civic and Religious Festivals in Europe 1500–1800 (co-author with Anne Simon) SPECTACULUM EUROPAEUM: Theatre and Spectacle in Europe (co-author with Pierre Béhar) Court Culture in Dresden From Renaissance to Baroque Helen Watanabe-O’Kelly © Helen Watanabe-O’Kelly 2002 Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2002 978-0-333-98448-2 All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission. No paragraph of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, 90 Tottenham Court Road, London W1T 4LP. Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. The author has asserted her right to be identified as the author of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. First published 2002 by PALGRAVE Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS and 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N. Y. 10010 Companies and representatives throughout the world PALGRAVE is the new global academic imprint of St. Martin’s Press LLC Scholarly and Reference Division and Palgrave Publishers Ltd (formerly Macmillan Press Ltd). ISBN 978-1-349-43068-0 ISBN 978-0-230-51449-2 (eBook) DOI 10.1057/9780230514492 This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully managed and sustained forest sources. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Watanabe-O’Kelly, Helen. Court culture in Dresden / by Helen Watanabe-O’Kelly. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. 1. Dresden (Germany)—Intellectual life. 2. Arts, German—Germany— Dresden. 3. Dresden (Germany)—Court and courtiers. 4. Dresden (Germany)—Civilization. I. Title. DD901.D747 .W38 2002 943′.2142—dc21 2001056119 10987654321 11 10 09 08 07 06 05 04 03 02 Contents List of Figures vii Acknowledgements xii Abbreviations xiv Genealogical table xv Introduction 1 1 The Lutheran Legacy: The Albertine Electors and Protestant Court Culture 5 The Electoral burial chapel at Freiberg 5 Sectarian tournaments 20 Lutheran sacred music – the ‘historia’ 22 Biblical drama 26 Johann Georg II and the ‘Joseph’ plays 30 Dedekind and the biblical semi-opera 34 2 The Italian Ideal: The Sixteenth-Century Reception of Italian Culture 37 Italian artists in Dresden 37 The new stables and portrait gallery (1586) 43 Arms, armour and Italian horsemanship 45 The tournament and Italian influence 49 Princely education and ‘civil conversation’ 54 Johann Georg I’s Italian journey (1601) and its Dresden legacy 59 3 The Management of Knowledge: The Dresden Collections – Their Origin and Development 71 Early modern collecting 71 The original Dresden Kunstkammer 73 Elector August’s Library 84 The Electoral Library in the seventeenth century 88 The Kunstkammer under Christian I and Christian II 90 Johann Georg I’s Kunstkammer 91 Storage and inventorisation of the collections 96 v vi Contents 4 The Secrets of the Heavens and the Earth: Alchemy, Mining and Astrology at the Dresden Court 100 Early modern alchemy in the Empire 101 Princely patrons of alchemy in the Empire 104 Alchemy in Dresden – the theory 106 Alchemical practice at the Dresden court 115 Mining and astrology in court festivals 120 5 The Fabrication of an Image: Johann Georg II’s Self-presentation 130 Johann Georg II’s emergence as Jason (1650) 130 The Riesensaal and the ballet of 1653 132 Johann Georg II as Knight of St George 140 Johann Georg II as Nimrod 151 Publishing the image 154 6 The ‘Recreation of the Spirit’: Theatre at the Dresden Court during the Seventeenth Century 166 ‘Pleasant inventions and entertaining histories’ – foreign drama at the Dresden court 166 ‘Heroes changed to flowers’ – ballet at the Dresden court 174 ‘Gods among the Saxons’ – opera in Dresden 189 7 The Saxon Hercules: August the Strong, Elector of Saxony, King of Poland 193 From Lutheran Elector to Catholic King 195 The cultural impact of France 204 From Kunstkammer to museum 212 From occult science to early manufacturing 220 From Mercury to Apollo – August’s festivals 229 Conclusion 238 Notes 242 Bibliography 273 Index 297 List of Figures The following are thanked for permission to reproduce works in their collections: Staatliche Kunstsammlungen, Dresden (Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, Grünes Gewölbe, Kupferstichkabinett, Porzellansammlung, Rüstkammer and Skulpturensammlung); Sächsisches Hauptstaatsarchiv, Dresden (HStA); Sächsische Landesbibliothek, Staats- und Universitätsbibliothek, Dresden (SLUB) Stadtmuseum Dresden ‘Deutsche Fotothek’ in the following list indicates that the photograph in question comes from the Sächsische Landesbibliothek, Staats- und Universitätsbibliothek, Dresden, Deutsche Fotothek, which has kindly given permission for the photograph to be reproduced. The name of the photographer is indicated in brackets. 1 Map of Electoral Saxony after 1547 1 2 Medal commemorating the discovery of silver deposits in the St Anna mine near Freiberg, Erzgebirge, in 1690. Tentzel, Saxonia numismatica. Tab. 68, No. 1 7 3 Monument to Moritz, Elector of Saxony, Freiberg Cathedral. Deutsche Fotothek (Nowak) 10 4 Electoral burial chapel in Freiberg Cathedral. The monument to Moritz is on the left. Deutsche Fotothek (Möbius) 11 5 Kneeling figure of Christian I in the Electoral burial chapel in Freiberg Cathedral by Carlo di Cesare. Bronze. Deutsche Fotothek (Möbius) 13 6 Christ coming in Judgement on the ceiling of the Electoral burial chapel in Freiberg Cathedral by Carlo di Cesare. Stucco. Deutsche Fotothek (Seifert) 14 7 Zacharias Wehme, Christian I and his family, 1591. Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, Dresden. Inv. No. MO 1951. Deutsche Fotothek (Steuerlein) 16 vii viii List of Figures 8 Johann Heinrich Böhme the Elder, Johann Georg II. 1674. Alabaster. Wooden frame. 131 cm in height. Skulpturensammlung, Dresden. Inv. No. ZV 3227 18 9 Medal commemorating the inauguration of the chapel in Moritzburg Castle. Johann Georg II kneels before the altar. 1672. Tentzel, Saxonia numismatica. Tab. 58, No. 1 19 10 Daniel Bretschneider the Elder, Design for a sledge. 1602. SLUB. Mscr.Dresd.B 104 22 11 Map of Electoral Saxony after 1648, augmented by Lusatia 34 12 Johann Azelt, A view of the Palace courtyard in Dresden showing the sgraffito decoration. From Gabriel Tzschimmer, Die Durchlauchtigste Zusammenkunft, Plate 23, S.207. Deutsche Fotothek (Richter) 38 13 Fresco by the Tola brothers in the Riesensaal or Room of the Giants in the Palace in Dresden. Drawing by Valentin Wagner. Pencil and red chalk. Sheet 22 from Wagner’s sketchbook. Kupferstich-Kabinett, Dresden. Deutsche Fotothek (Rous) 39 14 The stables built by Christian I (1586). Engraving from Gabriel Tzschimmer, Die Durchlauchtigste Zusammenkunft, S.15. Deutsche Fotothek (Richter) 43 15 The Langer Gang or Long Arcade. Engraving from Anton Weck, Der Churfürstl. Sächs. Weit beruffenen Residentz und Haupt-Vestung Dresden: Beschreib: und Vorstellung (1680). Deutsche Fotothek (Rous) 44 16 Daniel Bretschneider the Elder, Float and Ethiopians in the running at the ring held in Dresden in 1609. SLUB Mscr.Dresd.J 18. Deutsche Fotothek (Rous) 53 17 Matthaus Merian the Younger, View of Dresden (after 1622). Engraving. Deutsche Fotothek (Rous) 66 18 Friedrich Hagedorn, The Belvedere in Dresden (1887). Oil on canvas. Stadtmuseum, Dresden. Inv. No. 1979/K 208. Deutsche Fotothek (Paetzold) 67 19 Rock crystal drinking vessel with a setting of gold, rubies, enamel and sapphires. The Sarachi workshop in Milan before 1580. Grünes Gewölbe, Dresden. Deutsche Fotothek (Heckmann) 74 20 The figure of a Moor by Balthasar Permoser holds the lump of Columbian emerald ore from the Kunstkammer. The setting is by the Dinglinger brothers. Lacquered birch, gilt silver, emeralds, rubies, sapphires, topazes, garnets, List of Figures ix almandine and tortoiseshell. c.1724. Grünes Gewölbe, Dresden. H. 63.8 cm. Deutsche Fotothek (Heckmann) 77 21 Georg Wecker, Ivory stacking cup, 1588. Grünes Gewölbe, Dresden. Deutsche Fotothek (Heckmann) 81 22 The raven in the cucurbit from HStA Geheimes Archiv Loc. 4417/5 103 23 Angel raising a man from the dead. Pen-and-ink drawing from HStA Geheimes Archiv Loc. 4417/7 111 24 Two alchemists at work. Pen-and-ink drawing from HStA Geheimes Archiv Loc. 4417/7 111 25 Daniel Bretschneider the Elder, Mercury and his furnace in the mining invention for the running at the ring held in Dresden in 1591. SLUB Mscr.Dresd.J 9. Deutsche Fotothek (Franke) 122 26 Daniel Bretschneider the Elder, Astronomer. Design for a sledge. SLUB Mscr.Dresd.B 104. Deutsche Fotothek (Richter) 123 27 Johann Oswald Harms, Set design of a mountain scene with miners at work for the entrée of Saturn in the Ballet von Zusammenkunft und Wirckung Derer Sieben Planeten, 1678. Note the windlass in the centre at the back. Deutsche Fotothek (Richter) 126 28 Samuel Klemm, Freiberg, 1675–77. The ‘Tscherpertasche’, or bag for tallow, and other lighting materials in the miner’s accoutrements called the ‘Bergmannsgarnitur’ commissioned by Johann Georg II and worn by him in 1678. Leather, silver, gilding, enamel, precious stones. The enamel plaque represents the Electoral mint in which several figures can be seen at work. W. 17 cm. Grünes Gewölbe, Dresden. Deutsche Fotothek (Heckmann) 127 29 Johann Mock, The Riesensaal in the Palace in Dresden on the occasion of the installation of Johann Georg IV as Garter Knight in 1693 (detail). Gouache. Kupferstich-Kabinett, Dresden. C1961-114. Deutsche Fotothek (Andrich) 136 30 Johann Mock, The British envoy ties the Garter on Johann Georg IV on the occasion of his installation as Garter Knight in 1693 (detail).