96 and on the upper rails, the crown in gold [...]. One wall is hung with pictures under the most finely polished glass; the wall opposite is decorated with tall, splendid mirrors, and provides unrestricted views.”10 Two drawings from the conversion phase of 1745/46 clarify the design:11 the elevation view (fig. 2) shows two tall windows that terminate in round arches. The base of the wall is clad in profiledwainscoting. Decorating the continuous cornice above the windows is gilded rocaille ornamentation that continues onto the vaulted ceiling and forms a crowned “A” – for Augustus – at the centre of the long walls. With their gilded frames, the pastels must have contributed strongly to the overall visual impact. Significant as well was the multiplication of motifs by the above-mentioned mirrors, not shown in this view. It remains uncertain, however, whether the two drawings document the designs prior to their execution, or instead record them as implemented. Nor can it be ascertained whether the green wash shown on the end wall in the sectional rendering reflects the colour that was actually present in the cabinet (see cat. 137). Unfortunately, no depictions or photographs of the roomexist, nor has any portion of the decor survived: the building was almost completely destroyed during World War II, and the room was given a false ceiling in the course of reconstruction carried out between 1954 and 1968. While it is indisputable that this incomparable collection of pastels can be attributed to the elector-king’s personal taste, it is unclear just who took the decision to display them together in a special gallery of their own. It cannot be ruled out entirely that Algarotti was the source of the idea of relocating the collection of old masters into a future electoral-royal museum to make way for a presentation of art by living masters.12 Meanwhile, the limits of neatly dividing old masters from new became evident when, in a letter addressed to Heinrich von Brühl in 1745, the very same Algarotti conveyed Carriera’s judgment, according to which the recent acquisition of Liotard’s Fig. 2 (cat. 136) Unknown draughtsman, after Johann Christoph Knöffel Electoral Mews, Pastel Cabinet, elevation 1745/46 · pen and ink, wash Dresden, Landesamt für Denkmalpflege Sachsen, inv. no. M 6.Vl.Bl. 9
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