300 Years Keeping in the Present

While many museums remain shuttered due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Apollo’s usual weekly pick of exhibitions will include shows at institutions that are now reopening as well as digital projects providing virtual access to art and culture.

Formed in 1720, the Kupferstich-Kabinett in Dresden is one of the world’s oldest collections dedicated to works of art on paper. This exhibition of around 200 works explores the history of the museum, and the growth of its collection over the centuries to more than half a million prints, drawings, watercolours, and photographs today. A major highlight is Jan Van Eyck’s silverpoint study for a portrait of Cardinal Niccolò Albergati; rarely displayed due to its fragility, this is the only surviving work on paper by the Flemish master. The exhibition runs from 12 June–14 September; find out more from the Dresden State Art Collections’ website.

Preview below | View Apollo’s Art Diary here

Picture of an Old Man (1435–40), Jan van Eyck. Photo: Herbert Boswank; © Kupferstich-Kabinett, Dresden State Art Collections

The Drawbridge (1750), Giovanni Battista Piranesi. Photo: Andreas Diesend; © Kupferstich-Kabinett, Dresden State Art Collections

Poster: Divan Japonais (1892), Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. Photo: Herbert Boswank; © Kupferstich-Kabinett, Dresden State Art Collections

Study room of the Kupferstich-Kabinett in Semperbau am Zwinger, Dresden (1908), Hans Franke & Co. Photo: Herbert Boswank; © Kupferstich-Kabinett, Dresden State Art Collections