Bellotto & Dresden

In 1747, a year after his uncle had left for England, Bellotto moved from Venice to Dresden to become court painter to Augustus III, Elector of Saxony and King of Poland. Receiving a generous salary, he produced celebrated city views for the royal collection and smaller versions for private patrons, two of which are shown here. They present Dresden’s baroque skyline with the Augustus Bridge, the Lutheran Frauenkirche, and the newly rising Catholic Hofkirche. Like his uncle, Bellotto refined his images into ideal compositions: he manipulates the Frauenkirche’s proportions to suit his compositional needs and represents the Hofkirche as if complete, though its tower was still under construction. Bellotto’s flourishing decade ended abruptly when Prussian troops invaded Dresden in 1756. The artist departed for Vienna in early 1759, accompanied by his son in search of new patronage. He left behind his wife and daughters in embattled Dresden.