The fairest of them all

The Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden, or Dresden State Art Collections, comprise the oldest, second-largest group of museums inGermany. The eleven museums united under this umbrella organization are among the most famous in the world, and they contain a wealth of unique art treasures that span a variety of themes and epochs, attracting visitors from around the globe. Augustus the Strong and his son, Augustus III—both electors of Saxony and kings of Poland during the eighteenth century—were extraordinary connoisseurs of the arts, and their enthusiastic patronage had a lasting impact on the development of the collections which today are exhibited in world-famous buildings, such as the Zwinger, the Rezidenz, and the Albertinum. The year 2010 marks the 450th anniversary of the Dresden State Art Collections, and visitors are invited to travel through time—from the days of antiquity to the present. This opulent volume features numerous illustrations of very special highlights from the individual collections and the historical buildings that house them. (German edition ISBN 978-3-7757-2458-6)