abstraktes Portrait einer Person in bunten Farben
© Slawomir Elsner, Foto: Sebastian Schobbert

In the Face of Humanity – Sławomir Elsner / Albrecht Dürer

With his inimitable coloured-pencil drawings, Sławomir Elsner (b. 1976) offers a fresh perspective on Albrecht Dürer. Born in 1976 in Poland and today based in Berlin, Elsner frequently starts from paintings by earlier masters, which he transposes into drawing. These are the same size as the original and characterised by extremely fine hatching in coloured pencil. The overlapping, meticulously drawn lines create shimmering concentrations of colour that possess both lightness and luminous depth. Seen close-up, they appear abstract; only from a distance can we make out forms and figures. 

  • Dates 23/05/2026—30/08/2026
  • Opening Hours daily 10—17, Monday closed Whit Monday, 25/05/2026 10—17
  • Admission Fees normal 18 €, reduced 13,50 €, children up to school age free, pupils (under 20 years) 2 €, groups (10 persons and more) 16 €
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Die Kabinett-Ausstellung

At the centre of the presentation is “The Seven Sorrows of the Virgin” (1495/96), an early work by Dürer from the Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister collection in Dresden. It consists of seven panel paintings arranged in a U-shape around a central field, which was originally occupied by the figure of the grieving Virgin. Elsner has reinterpreted this representation of the “Virgin Mary as the Mother of Sorrows” (today housed in the Alte Pinakothek in Munich) in the form of a drawing, with which he provides the Dresden work with its missing fragment. Unlike in the case of a reconstruction, the juxtaposition of Dürer’s panels and Elsner’s drawing results in a captivating and dynamic relationship. Elsner’s palette deliberately contrasts with Dürer’s earth tones. His Virgin has a brighter, almost radiant hue. She is also translated into a kind of floating state and thus symbolically overcomes earthly suffering.

achtteiliges Gemälde, in der Mitte eine unscharfe Farbstiftzeichnung
© Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden und Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen, Alte Pinakothek München
Albrecht Dürer, Die Sieben Schmerzen der Maria, 1495/96, in der Mitte: Sławomir Elsner, Maria als Schmerzensmutter, 2026

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weitere

Further Exhibitions

Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister and Skulpturensammlung until 1800

in Zwinger

Madonna mit dem Jesuskind, am unteren Rand die zwei Engel

Art from the Romantic period to the present day

in Albertinum

Portrait einer Frau vor schwarzem Hintergrund

Kupferstich-Kabinett

in Residenzschloss

Portrait eines Mannes mit Hut und Vollbart
19/09/2026 —10/01/2027

Correggio. Movingly Human

in Zwinger

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