I painted this copy of a painting in the Dresden Galerie Alter Meister with the app “Paper” on my iPad. And no, it does not do the original justice at all, which is called “Doppelbildnis einer Dame und eines Herrn in den Rollen von Pomona und Venus” by Nicolas de Largilliere.
On January 2 and 3, we spent two days and one night in the restored baroque city of Dresden. I will let the photos and captions tell the story. I just want to say that I am not a fan of the baroque, even though Dresden is beautiful, and the complete restoration of all these buildings, sculptures and architectural details destroyed during the war is amazing.
Taking an early train to Dresden on January 2, and having to get up in order to make the breakfast time cut-off in our B&B meant that we had to shift our late-night cycle back to a more normal schedule. Which was good for us.
A sunny day greeted us in Dresden. It had been a long time since we’d seen the sun. Not just because we have been night owls, but also because it’s been cloudy and gloomy in Berlin.
Dresden facades.
In Dresden the socialist architecture co-mingles with the baroque buildings. Remnants of recent history together with reconstruction of old history. We also saw lots of Russian women tottering over the cobble stones in high heels at breakneck speed, but they all looked quite comfortable doing this. There’s one in this photo in bright blue pants with her man. We later found out that it was a) a big Russian orthodox holiday this first week of January and b) the Russians love to shop in Dresden which boasts elegant stores filled with designer labels.
This mural in Dresden might be the largest I have ever seen.
The Semper Oper in Dresden. My parents gave us money for tickets to a performance for Christmas, and we booked Madame Butterfly here. It was beautiful. I just need Jeff’s photos of the interior, since he brought his camera that day. After the performance, we went out for drinks at a nearby bar and ran into the opera singer who played Madame Butterfly’s maid. She had done a fantastic job and got as much applause as the lead singer, so we congratulated her on her performance clinked glasses with her for a toast. I considered sending her a drink via the bartender, but didn’t. I should have! One should do these random gutsy things whenever one thinks of them.
Dresden baroque sculptures. It is amazing to think that all this has been reconstructed. But as my friend G.’s mother, who grew up in Potsdam in the 30s and saw the destruction of WWII with her own eyes, and whose husband grew up in Dresden, pointed out: “Even more incredible than the reconstruction is the fact that all this was destroyed in the first place.” And I know what she means.
This window allowed a view of the restoration area of the basement in the Dresden sculpture museum in the Albertinum.
Sculptures on buildings near the Albertinum in Dresden.
Taking a coffee break in the Galerie of Modern Masters in the Albertinum, Dresden. I loved this museum of contemporary art — this was my favourite part of Dresden besides the opera performance!
Dresden continues to go all baroque-y on you at night.
