Treasures of Saxon State Library

The Augustan Era

At the time of the Saxon-Polish Union (1697-1763) under Prince Elector Frederick Augustus I and his son Frederick August II, Dresden became a European cultural center. The arts flourished in the capital, where important artists of the time -- architects, sculptors, painters, artisans, and musicians from several European countries -- created works which to this day testify to the glory of that epoch. Court festivities demonstrated the power of the ruler and offered an opportunity for artists to exercise their talents. The royal collections were enriched by numerous treasures, which gradually led to the evolution of public cultural institutions of great importance.

For example, a new and glorious era began for the Royal Library. Its collections were reorganized; it received manuscripts, maps, and valuable prints from other sources. In 1728, it moved to the three pavilions of the just-completed Zwinger, the most beautiful Baroque building in Dresden.

This portion of the exhibit conveys an impression of the Augustan Age in Dresden with the Atlas Royal, and the original documents, beautiful bindings, rare prints, and music manuscripts on display.

An important eighteenth-century encyclopedia, with a portrait of Augustus the Strong, 1733

Friedrich August I (Augustus the Strong) was the most popular Saxon ruler. With his assumption of the Polish crown in 1697, Dresden flourished as a cultural and intellectual center, attracting scholars and artists from all over Europe. This encyclopedia, published by Johann Heinrich Zedler, was the largest (68 volumes) and most important German encyclopedia of the century. Volume 3, displayed here, contains a portrait of the Elector and is dedicated to him.

Grosses vollständiges Universal-Lexikon (Great Complete Univrsal Dictionary) Halle, Leipzig: Johann Heinrich Zedler, 1733. Vol. 3, frontispiece and titlepage Paper (105)

Portrait of Queen Anne of England, in a luxurious map atlas commissoned by Augustus the Strong, 1706-1710

This unique atlas testifies to both the love of splendor and the interest in science of Augustus the Strong (1670-1733). Produced for him in Amsterdam in 1706-1710, the nineteen large-format morocco volumes contain roughly 1400 beautifully colored printed or hand-drawn leaves (maps, views, plans, portraits) of Dutch, French, Italian, English and German origin dating to the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. Volume I, on display, contains seventy masterfully tinted engravings depicting English royalty and court dress around 1700.

Atlas Royal (Royal Atlas) Amsterdam, 1707. Vol. 1 Hand-colored engraving (108)

Wash drawing by Matthäus Pöppelmann for a proposed pavilion in the Zwinger fortress, 1712/13

The Dresden Zwinger, a world-renowned masterwork of Baroque architecture, would have been inconceivable without the initiative of Augustus the Strong. Two of the foremost artists of the era, the architect Matthäus Daniel Pöppelmann (1662-1736) and the sculptor Balthasar Permoser (1651-1732), executed his concept. Initially the project was to involve the construction of an orangery in the "Zwinger" section of the fortress complex, but the plans grew to include construction of a new castle. Original plans in the Saxon State Library show the grand scale of the overall concept, of which only the Zwinger was realized, in modified form.

Pöppelmann, Matthäus Daniel Entwurf für einen Zwingerpavillon (Draft for a Zwinger pavilion) Dresden, 1712/13 Wash drawing on paper (109)

Mass in B Minor by Johann Sebastian Bach, manuscript score, 1733

After the death of Hofkapellmeister Heinichen in 1729 and the appointment of J.A. Hasse as his replacement, Bach (who was not considered for the position for religious reasons) applied for a court appointment. To his application he appended a part of his Mass in B Minor, transcribed with the help of his wife and his eldest son. The date of the first Dresden performance of this brilliant work has never been determined. However, since 1736 the cantor of the St. Thomas Church in Leipzig has worn the title Composer to the Court of the King of Poland and the Elector of Saxony.

Johann Sebastian Bach Missa (h moll: Kyrie und Gloria). Originaler Stimmensatz (Mass in B Minor: Kyrie and Gloria. Original Vocal Part) Leipzig, 1733, bass voice Paper (117)

View, by Bellotto, of the Zwinger Palace inner court, where the State Library was located

The illustration shows the inner court of the Zwinger. The Electoral library was housed in the three pavilions in the background from 1728 to 1786.

Bernardo Bellotto (Canaletto) Zwingerhof (Zwinger Court), 1758 Enraving (122)

Plate in artist-naturalist Maria Merian's study on Surinam insects, 1705

Trained as a painter and obsessed with a desire for knowledge, Maria Sibylla Merian (1647-1717) studied and drew insects in their various developmental stages, as well as plants related to them. In 1699, she journeyed from Holland to Surinam to study its insects. The results of her two-year stay in the jungle were published in 1705 in a large-format folio, which earned her a place of honor among the great naturalists. The Saxon State Library owns one of the few surviving copies of Merian's work, colored by the author herself.

Maria Sibylla Merian Metamorphosis insectorum Surinamensium (Metamorphosis of the Insects of Surinam) Amsterdam, 1705, figure 46 Hand-colored engraving (123)

Watercolor of a cavalryman in Count Moritz's treatise on military science, 1732

Moritz, Count of Saxony (1696-1750), the son of Augustus the Strong and Countess Aurora of K”nigsmarck, entered French military service in 1720 and was promoted to general field marshal of French armies in 1745. In 1732 he recorded his thoughts on military science which, when printed in 1756, became an important military textbook, influencing Frederick the Great of Prussia, among others. Early in 1733, the manuscript on display was presented by Moritz to his half brother Frederick Augustus, who had just become the Elector of Saxony and King of Poland.

Count Moritz of Saxony Des reveries (Musings) 1732, p. 100, plate 40 Paper (125)

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