Dresden – Christian Hammer after Gotthold Thieme, ca. 1840

MONUMENTAL VIEW OF DRESDEN FROM BRÜHL’S TERRACE, C. 1820

View of Dresden from Brühl’s Garden, an outline etching (Umrissradierung) by Christian Gottlob Hammer after a drawing by J. Thieme, published in Dresden by Heinrich Rittner, c. 1820. With original hand-colouring. Image approx. 43.5 × 63 cm. The sheet has been remargined.

From Brühl’s Terrace, we look westwards across the monumental centre of Dresden. The broad Schlossplatz is dominated by the Catholic Hofkirche, whose richly articulated Baroque façade and lofty tower form the visual focus of the composition. To the left rises the Hausmannsturm of the Dresden Residenzschloss. To the right, the view opens onto the Elbe, where part of the Augustus Bridge spans the river with its massive stone arches.

Between the Hofkirche and the Elbe lies the so-called Italienisches Dörfchen, a group of low houses whose name derived from the Italian craftsmen who had come to Dresden in the eighteenth century to work on the construction of the Hofkirche. Across the river stretches the Neustadt; farther in the distance, buildings along the Elbe and the silhouette of the Japanese Palace can be distinguished.

The view is also of considerable topographical interest because it shows Dresden before a number of major nineteenth-century changes. The western side of what would later become Theaterplatz is still open: the first Semper Opera House, built between 1838 and 1841 to designs by Gottfried Semper, does not yet exist.

Hammer and Thieme combined the monumental architecture with lively staffage. Carriages, horsemen, pedestrians and dogs move across the square, while elegantly dressed visitors enjoy the view from Brühl’s Terrace. The figures in the foreground, with their tall hats, long coats, Empire dresses and large ladies’ bonnets, give the cityscape the character of a snapshot of Dresden around 1820. The soft, transparent colouring in blue, green, yellow and brown enhances the impression of a finely finished watercolour.

Christian Gottlob Hammer (1779–1864) was one of Dresden’s most important landscape draughtsmen and printmakers. He studied at the Dresden Academy of Fine Arts from 1794, became a member of the academy in 1816 and was appointed professor extraordinary in 1829. His precise yet picturesque views of Dresden and the Saxon landscape enjoyed great popularity. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe also admired his work and visited Hammer in his studio in 1810.

Price: Euro 1.450,-