The Opera House & Old Masters Picture Gallery

Today I spent most of my time working through three floors of magnificent art works at the Dresden Old Masters Picture Gallery and the Sculpture Collection. The world-famous gallery covers 6 centuries of European painting and sculpture, up to 1800. The gallery is in the extensively renovated Semper Building at the Zwinger. 

The collection includes masterpieces such as paintings by Raphael, Titian, Tintoretto, Giorgione, Vermeer, Rembrandt, van Eyck, Lucas Cranach the Elder, Albrecht Durer etc. Not to mention the largest collection I have ever seen of Canalettos. Probably about 20 of them.

At the end of the second world war many of the paintings were confiscated by the Russian Art Unit. However about 75% of them were returned in the 1950s. There are still many paintings from the gallery that have never been recovered.

I started the morning taking photos of the Semper Opera House which is right next door. Rather than making my main photo a painting from the gallery, I have chosen a shot of the Opera House, designed by Gottfried Semper. It is know world-wide for its architectural beauty. The equestrian statue on the left is King Johann of Saxony.

The Extras are from the Old Masters Gallery. The last one being of Dresden by Canaletto. Tomorrow I am doing a tour of the inside of the Opera House. It was not open today.