Kunsthaus Zürich

The Kunsthaus Zürich presents the first museum exhibition of one of the most influential exponents of landscape between the European Enlightenment and Pre-Romanticism in Dresden. Adrian Zingg (1734 – 1816) was born in St. Gallen and served his apprenticeship with J. R. Holzhalb in Zurich and J. L. Aberli in Berne. He spent seven years with J. G. Wille in Paris and then five decades as a professor at the Academy of Art in Dresden, where the students were actively encouraged to work after nature. Together with his Swiss compatriot and fellow artist Anton Graff, Zingg used Dresden as a base for exploring the countryside of the Elbe Sandstone Mountains, drawing numerous views of picturesque interest of what has since become known as the Saxon and Bohemian Switzerland. Zingg’s largeformat sepia plates influenced an entire generation, right through to C. D. Friedrich and L. Richter. His choice of motifs and interpretation of landscape also influenced souvenir production in the early days of tourism. The exhibition is being organized by the Staatliche Kunstsammlung, Dresden in cooperation with the Kunsthaus Zürich.