Exhibition of the week: Bernardo Bellotto’s The Königstein Views Reunited
This small, free exhibition at the National Gallery should not be missed
Of all the many castles in Saxony, the medieval fortress of Königstein is by some distance “the most impressive”, said Lucy Davies in The Daily Telegraph. Perched on an imposing hilltop, it towers 800 metres over the Elbe River and dominates the landscape for miles around. “This is why, in 1756, Frederick Augustus II, Elector of Saxony and one of Europe’s most powerful rulers, commissioned the greatest view-painter of his day to record its splendour for all the world to see.”
Bernardo Bellotto (1722–1780), nephew of the much more famous Canaletto, had already spent a decade as a court artist to Frederick-Augustus, painting remarkable urban landscapes of his magnificent capital, Dresden. It took him two years and five canvases, each one studying the citadel from a different perspective, to capture the fortress to his satisfaction. Ironically, by the time Bellotto was “applying his final touches” to the series, hostile Prussian forces had crushed Saxony’s armies and were laying siege to Dresden. Frederick-Augustus, who had initially taken refuge in the Königstein itself, had to flee to his lands in Poland.
As a result, the series was dispersed across Europe, eventually ending up in collections across Britain and the US. It is only now, in this small, free exhibition at the National Gallery – Bellotto: The Königstein Views Reunited – that the works have been brought together as intended. The chance to see these wonderfully detailed and atmospheric paintings should not be missed.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
“These are big, towering heavy works,” said Eddy Frankel in Time Out. “They loom over you with their pillars of grey stone and stark, sharp angles.” Three paintings here are views of the fortress from afar, in which Bellotto deploys “every weapon of perspective in his arsenal” to emphasise and exaggerate the already vast architectural scale.
The Venetian was hired “to make his boss look big and impressive. And it worked.” Yet, somehow, he also finds the space for impossibly precise detail: the works teem with minuscule likenesses of “shepherds shepherding, gardeners gardening, courtiers courtiering”. This is especially evident in the other two pictures, which view the Königstein from within its walls.
Indeed, it often “looks as if the entire Dresden court are whiling away their time in the castle precincts”, said Jonathan Jones in The Guardian. In one of the views inside the walls, we see “bewigged men and women with parasols” strolling in the sunshine. Elsewhere, in “a Hogarthian touch amid the splendour”, a man is glimpsed “reaching for his wallet as he makes an agreement with a young woman”.
In a similar vein, wall texts highlight another mildly sordid detail: the fortress of Königstein, we learn, contained “a 60,000-gallon wine cask in its cellar”, which Bellotto acknowledges by depicting “a gang of ragamuffins at its door, eager to drown their sorrows”. Although ostensibly propaganda images, these paintings contain all forms of human life. They also look forward to Romanticism, finding “awe in the rocks, walls and dark windows of an enigmatic castle”.
This is a beautifully curated exhibition which gives an “eye-opening” perspective on a chapter of European history largely ignored in this country. Small though it is, this is a “seismic” show.
Bellotto: The Königstein Views Reunited, National Gallery, London WC2 (020-7747 2885; nationalgallery.org.uk). Until 31 October. Free entry
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Two ancient cities have been discovered along the Silk Road
Under the radar The discovery changed what was known about the old trade route
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
'People shouldn't have to share the road with impaired drivers'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Is academic freedom in peril?
Today's Big Question Faculty punishments are on the rise
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
Vanessa Bell: A World of Form and Colour – an 'expansive' exhibition
The Week Recommends The 'sweeping' show features over 140 works from paintings to ceramics
By The Week UK Published
-
Kate Summerscale picks her favourite true crime books
The Week Recommends The writer shares works by Janet Malcolm, Helen Garner and Mark O'Connell
By The Week UK Published
-
The Forsyte Saga: 'faultless' production with a 'pitch-perfect' cast
The Week Recommends Theatrical adaptation of John Galsworthy's novels is a 'must-see' show
By The Week Published
-
6 exciting homes for athletes
Feature Featuring a rock-climbing wall in New York and a basketball-tennis court in Washington
By The Week Staff Published
-
Peter Ames Carlin's 6 favorite books on pop culture icons
Feature The author recommends works by James McBride, Jim Bouton, and more
By The Week US Published
-
The Wild Robot: animated adventure is 'warm, funny and wise'
The Week Recommends 'Sharply written and richly detailed' adaptation of Peter Brown's best-selling book
By The Week UK Published
-
Francis Bacon: Human Presence – a 'stirring, splendid' exhibition
The Week Recommends 'Riveting' show at the National Portrait Gallery explores the artist's 'wild' portraits
By The Week UK Published
-
Robert McCrum shares his favourite books on sport
The Week Recommends Writer and editor picks works by Nick Hornby, David Goldblatt and others
By The Week UK Published