How did the Lemon Squeezer get its name? It is the glass dome of the Hochschule für Bildende Künste Dresden. This dome sits atop a building on Brühl’s Terrace. The building is next to the Frauenkirche.
The Hochschule für Bildende Künste Dresden is a vocational university for visual arts. It has a long history. It has been a place of training for many influential European artists.
The Dresden Art Academy was founded in 1764. After World War II it merged with Hochschule für Werkkunst Dresden. The present institution is the product of this merger.
One of the Hochschule für Bildende Künste Dresden buildings was built in 1894. It is the former Royal Academy of Arts. Constantin Lipsius built it on Brühl’s Terrace between 1887 and 1894. Parts of the building were destroyed during World War II. These parts have since been reconstructed.
Studios for painting graphic arts and sculpture are here. Graphic workshops are also located on Brühl’s Terrace. The rector’s office is here too. Exhibition rooms display the annual graduation work.
The Elbe side of the Hochschule für Bildende Künste Dresden displays names. Pheidias Iktinos and Praxiteles are inscribed there. Polykleitos Lysippos and Erwin von Steinbach are also listed. Leonardo da Vinci Michelangelo Raphael and Dürer complete the inscriptions.
The other side shows a motto. It reads DEM VATERLAND ZU ZIER UND EHR. This translates to For the Honour and Adornment of the Fatherland.
Besides the Brühl’s Terrace building the Hochschule für Bildende Künste Dresden owns other properties. A sculpture building is on Pfotenhauerstrasse. Its studios and workshops were built in 1910. They were part of a big open-air exhibition.
Workshops and studios for restoration are at Güntzstrasse. Stage setting and costume design courses are also there. The technical college degree course for theatre setting is here.
The Allgemeine Kunst-Academie was founded in 1764. Frederick Christian ordered its creation. It was for painting sculpture copperplate engraving and architecture. From 1768 to 1786 it was in the Fürstenberg Palace.
Charles Hutin was the first director. He was French. Johann Eleazar Zeissig became alternating director after Hutin died. Giovanni Battista Casanova was his co-director.
The Hochschule für Bildende Künste Dresden succeeded the Zeichen- und Malerschule. This School for Drawing and Painters was founded in 1680. It is one of the oldest art academies in German-speaking areas. In 1950 the Dresden Academy of Fine Arts merged. It joined with the Public Academy of Applied Art. This formed today’s Hochschule für Bildende Künste Dresden.
Presentation space exists in the octagon below the Lemon Squeezer. Two big exhibition rooms are adjacent. The former library is available. The Galerie Brühlsche Terrasse can be used by students. It is also open to co-operation partners.
The Fine Art degree takes 10 semesters. It leads to the Diplom degree. Art Technology Preservation and Restoration is another course. It is one of Germany’s oldest university-level courses.
The Laboratory Theatre on Güntzstrasse was completed in 2000. It provides a rehearsal and experimental stage.
Bernardo Bellotto was a teacher. He painted Dresden townscapes. Anton Graff and Adrian Zingg made the academy important in Europe in the 19th century. Johann Friedrich Wilhem Müller taught there. He famously engraved the Sistine Madonna after Raphael. Ernst Rietschel Gottfried Semper and Ludwig Richter added to the academy’s reputation. Many other artists were associated with the Hochschule für Bildende Künste Dresden. These include Eugen Bracht Giovanni Casanova Caspar David Friedrich Oskar Kokoschka and Otto Dix.
The Hochschule für Bildende Künste Dresden has three locations along the Elbe. These are Brühlsche Terrasse 1 Güntzstraße 34 and Pfotenhauerstrasse 81/83. Graduation ceremonies and annual exhibitions happen in early June. They are held at Brühl Terrace and Pfotenhauerstrasse.
Each year the Hochschule für Bildende Künste Dresden produces new artists. The tradition continues. The Lemon Squeezer watches over it all.