The annual exhibition of the Saxon State Office for Monument Preservation illustrated, through numerous original architectural drawings, how Italian architects and artists shaped the architecture of early 18th-century Dresden. On display were designs for the Royal Palace, the Zwinger, the Court Church, and other festive and theatrical buildings in Dresden. In 69 architectural drawings, 25 copperplate engravings and etchings, as well as 20 additional graphics and photographs, the impressive presence and fascinating diversity of Italian influence were vividly revealed to visitors.
The exhibition was further enriched by original sculptural fragments by the Italian sculptors Antonio Corradini and Lorenzo Mattielli—including parts of the saintly figures from the Catholic Court Church—as well as stucco fragments and casts from the former Brühl’s Palace in Dresden, provided on loan by the Dresden University of Fine Arts, and fragments from the Grotto Hall of the Dresden Zwinger.
