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1756 Dresden

»1756 Dresden« – unfold the myth

See through the eyes of Canaletto!

The famous Dresden vedutas by the painter Bernardo Bellotto, also known as Canaletto, inspired Yadegar Asisi to create his 360° panorama of the city on the river Elbe.
So now you can go on a fascinating visual journey back in time, back to Dresden on a sunny day in the August of 1756.
Of course, no-one is aware of the fact that the Seven-Years‘-War is just about to break out. People are going about their daily business as normal. Traders are selling their goods, theatre performers are entertaining the passers-by. Elegant ladies-in-waiting and gentlemen from the “Saxon nobility” are out walking in the gardens, exchanging the latest court gossip or adjusting the flea traps hidden beneath the folds of their garments. They are all telling stories. And who knows – maybe you will hear one of them…?

From the viewing platform, twelve metres above ground, you seem to be standing on the tower of the Catholic Court Church in 1756, with a magnificent view over the rooftops and squares of the royal seat. Look over the magnificent palaces and churches, the Zwinger, the vast gardens and imposing town houses. Here you can experience the Augustan age, when the myth of Dresden was born, with your own eyes. Monumental in size - 105 metres long and 27 metres high – on a scale of 1:1 – Yadegar Asisi‘s panoramic painting takes you back to one of the most important eras Dresden has known.

But you not only see the city; you can even hear it. The babble of the crowds on the streets, coaches driving by, the banging of the craftsmen’s hammer and the cries of the nightwatchmen. For you do not only experience the city by day. Slowly the panorama grows dark as the evening approaches andnight falls, finally showing baroque Dresden on a summer night.

The music of Eric Babak, especially composed for »1756 Dresden«, also makes this unique form of sensual perception an unforgettable experience. See – admire – understand.  »1756 Dresden« is the first complete portrayal of Dresden at the time when the myth of the city as the Florence of Germany first arose.  Asisi‘s panorama also suggests how the overall appearance of Dresden in the baroque era may have been, inviting discussions on the architectural history of the city.

»1756 Dresden« – The exhibition

A visit to the accompanying exhibition is like going on an entertaining walk through the baroque city on the river Elbe. Here you can learn more about daily life, life at court, politics and diplomacy, and of course about baroque architecture. Historical town maps and architectural drawings are on display, as well as original copperplate engravings and lithographs from the 18th and 19th centuries. There are also many stone witnesses of Dresden Baroque which tell their own stories, for example the “Golden Sun”, a former decoration on the façade of a house on Newtown Market – or a fragment of the Holy Maria de Pazzi, an original figure from the Court Church, made by the Italian sculptor Lorenzi Mattielli. The large bell from Newtown Town Hall and one of the wrought- iron anchor rings which were used to support the stone dome of the Church of Our Lady bring the spirit of the age back to life, which of course includes a real ivory flea trap.

Additionally, Yadegar Asisi presents his own series of large vedutas, showing hitherto unknown views of the royal seat in the baroque era. These will be added to the exhibition little by little.

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Artistic development and panorama: Yadegar Asisi
Music: Eric Babak
Curator: Dr. Stefan Hertzig
Exhibition architecture: Marina Rütten