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This is a strange image, as it commemorates a catastrophe. In 1760, the Prussian army besieged Dresden, capital of Saxony, and destroyed large parts of the city. Bellotto, painter to the King of Saxony, recorded the destruction. His images may have had value as propaganda, for across Europe the Prussians were roundly condemned for the equivalent of war crimes. This particular scene may also have had personal resonance; Bellotto lived in this neighborhood, and his house had been destroyed.
Ruins of the Suburbs of Dresden after the Bombardment of 1760
Bernardo Bellotto (Italian (Venetian), 1720–1780)
1766
Medium/Technique
Etching
Dimensions
Sheet: 59.9 x 73.4 cm (23 9/16 x 28 7/8 in.)
Platemark: 52.9 x 63.6 cm (20 13/16 x 25 1/16 in.)
Other (Mat): 76.8 x 101.6 cm (30 1/4 x 40 in.)
Platemark: 52.9 x 63.6 cm (20 13/16 x 25 1/16 in.)
Other (Mat): 76.8 x 101.6 cm (30 1/4 x 40 in.)
Credit Line
Museum purchase with funds donated by Ruth V. S. Lauer in memory of Julia Wheaton Saines
Accession Number2002.903
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsEurope, Prints and Drawings
ClassificationsPrints
This is a strange image, as it commemorates a catastrophe. In 1760, the Prussian army besieged Dresden, capital of Saxony, and destroyed large parts of the city. Bellotto, painter to the King of Saxony, recorded the destruction. His images may have had value as propaganda, for across Europe the Prussians were roundly condemned for the equivalent of war crimes. This particular scene may also have had personal resonance; Bellotto lived in this neighborhood, and his house had been destroyed.
Catalogue Raisonné
de Vesme 33, only state; Meyer 33; Rizzi I 26, only state; Fritzsche 33; Kozakiewicz II.242.302
Signed
Signed and dated in the plate
Marks
Verso, center, stamped in gray-brown ink, the mark of the Kupferstichkabinett, Dresden (Lugt 693b); verso, bottom right-center, stamped in brown ink, the mark of the MFA (Lugt 282)
InscriptionsVerso, lower left, in graphite pencil: A 1964-661 / Fritzsche 33 / Schloßbergung / 2152 / N26696
ProvenanceSchloss Nöthnitz, Saxony; nationalized by the East German government (Schloßbergung 2152); incorporated into the Dresden Kupferstichkabinett (Lugt 693b)(inv. no. A1964-661); returned to heirs, 2001; sold at auction, Günther, Dresden, Germany, March 26, 2002 (6,000 Euros); purchased by Kunsthandel Jörg Maaß, Berlin, and James Bergquist, Newton, Massachusetts; from whom purchased by MFA December 18, 2002