The Semper Gallery or Semper Building (German: Sempergalerie or Semperbau) in

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label=Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth ...

, Germany, was designed by the architect

Gottfried Semper Gottfried Semper (; 29 November 1803 – 15 May 1879) was a German architect, art critic, and professor of architecture who designed and built the Semper Opera House in Dresden between 1838 and 1841. In 1849 he took part in the May Uprising i ...

and constructed from 1847 until 1854. The long-stretched building in Neoclassical style closes the Zwinger courtyard on its northern side. It faces the Zwinger to the south; to the north it borders on the Theatre Square ('' Theaterplatz'') with the

Semper Opera House The Semperoper () is the opera house of the Sächsische Staatsoper Dresden (Saxon State Opera) and the concert hall of the Staatskapelle Dresden (Saxon State Orchestra). It is also home to the Semperoper Ballett. The building is located on the ...

as well as

Dresden Castle Dresden Castle or Royal Palace (german: Dresdner Residenzschloss or ) is one of the oldest buildings in Dresden, Germany. For almost 400 years, it was the residence of the electors (1547–1806) and kings (1806–1918) of Saxony from the Alberti ...

and the Catholic Church of the Royal Court (''Katholische Hofkirche''). The Semper Gallery houses the

Old Masters Picture Gallery Old or OLD may refer to: Places *Old, Baranya, Hungary *Old, Northamptonshire, England *Old Street station, a railway and tube station in London (station code OLD) *OLD, IATA code for Old Town Municipal Airport and Seaplane Base, Old Town, Mai ...

(''Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister'').

History

Dresden Theaterplatz Semperoper Zwinger 1900

Bundesarchiv Bild 183-77336-0001, Dresden, Sempergalerie

When the Zwinger was completed in 1728, its northern side towards the Theater Square and the river was left open in order to allow for further enlargements.Fritz Löffler: ''Das alte Dresden - Geschichte seiner Bauten''. 16th ed. Leipzig: Seemann, 2006, In 1838, the architect Gottfried Semper was asked to design an appropriate architectural setting for the painting collection of the royal court.Harald Marx: ''Gemäldegalerie Dresden - Führer Alte Meister ''. E. A. Seemann, Leipzig, 3. Aufl., 2006, , pp. 8-17. It was not until 1846 that it was decided to close the northern side of the Zwinger courtyard by placing the gallery building there and so creating a gallery wing of the Zwinger. The building, later named the Semper Gallery, was constructed from 1847 until 1854. It is reminiscent of the Italian Palazzi of the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass id ...

. In 1855, the interior was completed. Unlike the former buildings that housed the painting collection, the interior of the Semper Gallery could be heated and therefore could remain open throughout the year. In 1855 the collection was moved into the Semper Gallery, which opened as the New Royal Museum (''Neues Königliches Museum''). The sculptors

Ernst Rietschel Ernst Friedrich August Rietschel (15 December 180421 January 1861) was a German sculptor. Life Rietschel was born in Pulsnitz in Saxony the third child of Friedrich Ehrgott Rietschel and his wife Caroline. From the age of 20 he became an ...

and Ernst Julius Hähnel from

completed the outer decoration of the building.Bärbel Stefan: ''Ernst Rietschel – Zum 200. Geburtstag des Bildhauers'', Skulpturensammlung der Staatlichen Kunstsammlungen Dresden, 2004 While the northern facade towards the Theater Square displays antique themes, the southern facade contains paintings with religious themes. Until World War II, the Semper Gallery housed not only the painting collection, by now named Old Masters Gallery, but also the

Collection of Prints, Drawings and Photographs The Kupferstich-Kabinett (English: Collection of Prints, Drawings and Photographs) is part of the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen (State Art Collections) of Dresden, Germany. Since 2004 it has been located in Dresden Castle.bombing of Dresden The bombing of Dresden was a joint British and American aerial bombing attack on the city of Dresden, the capital of the German state of Saxony, during World War II. In four raids between 13 and 15 February 1945, 772 heavy bombers of the ...

. Most of the paintings were evacuated for safe-keeping earlier and so were not harmed. The building's reconstruction was completed in 1960. Following another restoration period of more than four years, the Semper Gallery re-opened in 1992.

Notes and references

External links

Semper Building and Zwinger
at

Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden (, ''Dresden State Art Collections'') is a cultural institution in Dresden, Germany, owned by the State of Saxony. It is one of the most renowned and oldest museum institutions in the world, originating from the ...

Homepage
of

{{Authority control Art museums and galleries in Dresden Cultural infrastructure completed in 1854 Baroque architecture in Dresden Rebuilt buildings and structures in Germany 1854 establishments in Germany

History

See also

Notes and references

External links