Leseprobe

117 Claudia Kryza-Gersch In 1690, Balthasar Permoser (1651 – 1732), who came from the Chiemgau region of Bavaria but always thought of himself as Salzburgian, followed the invitation of Elector Johann Georg III (1647– 1691) and came to Dresden, where he was to be active as court sculptor for more than 40 years. 1 His move marked the start of a magnificent career in a magnificent city that became a f lourishing centre of the arts during the subsequent reign of Augustus the Strong (1670 – 1733). It was during these decades that the creative spirit of the Saxon elector, who was simultaneously also King of Poland, transformed Dresden into one of the most beautiful Baroque cities in Europe, with Permoser playing a pivotal role in bringing this transformation about. His sculp- tures served as glorious ornaments in the Großer Garten, the Katholische Hofkirche, and other palaces, chapels, and parks. The showpieces he created together with the brilliant goldsmith Johann Melchior Dinglinger (1664 – 1731) filled the electoral Kunstkammer that was soon to become known as the Gr nes Gewölbe (Green Vault). Permoser worked with great virtuosity with a wide range of materials – stone, wood, and ivory – and in all formats, ranging from cutlery handles to monumental statues. His greatest legacy is his contribution to the famous Zwinger, which must be placed on an equal level with that of the architect Matthäus Daniel Pöppelmann (1662 – 1736). Their collaboration on the Zwinger shows architectural and sculp- tural art united in truly congenial fashion. Concluding, one could say that it is as difficult to imagine Dresden without Permoser, as it is impossible to imagine Rome without Bernini. Dresden, which is often referred to as the Florence on the Elbe, is actually a thoroughly Baroque city, while Florence itself is associated with the art of the Renaissance. The Zwinger is also, in essence, a Roman creation, which is something that Pöppelmann repeatedly stressed in his series of copperplate engravings of the building. 2 Pöppelmann and Permoser were in complete agreement in their esteem for everything Roman, as can be seen in the judgement the latter made on a trial piece by Jean Joseph Vinache (1696 – 1754), the creator of the Golden Rider , when he stated that it did not measure up to what the sculptors in Rome were doing. 3 Permoser’s preference is not surprising as he had spent a full fifteen years of his life (1675– 1690) in Italy. For most of this time he stayed in Florence but his first port of call had been Rome; he arrived in the city in 1675, after completing his training in Salzburg and Vienna, and remained there for about two years. 4 It is therefore less surprising that it fell to a Salzburgian to disseminate the idiom of the Roman High Baroque in Saxony. 5 Permoser was particularly impressed by the work of Gian Lorenzo Bernini (1598 – 1680), which can be seen frequently in his oeuvre and which shall be examined more closely in the following. Fig. 88 Balthasar Permoser, Crying Child (detail), c. 1725, Untersberg marble, Skulpturensammlung, Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden Bernini and Permoser A New Look at the Crying Child in the Dresden Skulpturensammlung