China's Heritage Reflected in Dresden

Dresden is one of the most important places where Europe's centuries of cultural interest in China is alive. The Pillnitz Castle is the largest architectural monument in the "Chinoisen" style. The collection of Chinese porcelain that the Saxon Elector August the Strong (1670-1733) brought together is unique.

The Kupferstich-Kabinett of the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden (SKD) will present its exhibition "La Chine. The China Collection of the 18th Century in the Dresden Kupferstich-Kabinett" which will last until 13 February 2022. For the first time, over 100 Chinese and chinoise exhibits from the Asiatica collection of August the Strong will be shown in the Residenzschloss - including a unique collection of popular commercial graphics that have hardly been preserved in China.

The collection contains a total of more than 2,000 individual works that were acquired at the Saxon court in the early 18th century as part of the pan-European enthusiasm for China. It includes, stored in volumes or on picture scrolls, 1,100 Chinese and around 850 chinoise graphics - this is the name given to the works created by European artists in the Chinese style. Most of the East Asian works are by anonymous artists, but artists such as Zhang Feng and Ding Yuntai have also been identified. The extensive collection also includes works by European artists such as Pieter Schenk I and Johann Christoph Weigel. This was listed in the first inventory of the Kupferstich-Kabinett from 1738 under the categories "La Chine" and "La Chine européenne".

The works of popular commercial graphics represent a specialty. Demonstrating theater scenes, congratulatory sheets and blessings for New Year's Day, these graphics were mass-produced and could be purchased cheaply. Since they were used as consumer goods in China, they were rarely kept there. This inventory was scientifically processed at the SKD as part of the three-and-a-half-year research project "Early Asiaticica and Chinoiseries at the Saxon Court".

Another highlight of the exhibition is the eight-meter-long Chinese picture scroll "The Robbers from Liangshan Moor". Based on the novel of the same name, it shows in many detailed representations how 108 people form a rebel army to fight against corrupt imperial officials.

The presented prints, paintings and colored woodcuts served European artists as templates for interior design, decorating furniture, and lacquer and porcelain painting. This influence on European applied arts is illustrated in the exhibition through a concentrated selection of loans. In some cases, motifs were taken over directly, as shown by a vase from the Porzellansammlung (SKD).

Stephanie Buck, Director of the Kupferstich-Kabinett: "This project is of particular importance for the Kupferstich-Kabinett. The Chinese and Chinoisen works are among the earliest holdings in our collection and yet are largely unknown. I am very grateful that this treasure was raised by Cordula Bischoff and Anita Xiaoming Wang and can now be shared with our visitors. The publication sets a milestone for research and international scientific exchange. "

Petra Kuhlmann-Hodick, curator of the exhibition and chief curator at the Kupferstich-Kabinett: "The Kangxi emperor, who ruled China at the time of August the Strong, is a very interesting person. The '36 Views of the Imperial Summer Palace at Jehol' are based on poems written by the emperor himself. The examination of these poetic and pictorial landscapes in the artistic work of the Dresden artist Ines Beyer is one of the highlights of the exhibition for me."

Actually the Kupferstich-Kabinett has also showcased its 300 years history as well in the world famous Morgan Library in New York.

Please click the following links for more information:

https://kupferstich-kabinett.skd.museum/en/exhibitions/

https://www.themorgan.org/exhibitions/van-eyck-to-mondrian