Old Elbe Gate in Pirna - a place of inspiration for Caspar David Friedrich
Caspar David Friedrich repeatedly interrupted his work in his studio in Dresden to hike and draw in Saxon Switzerland. At least 20 stays are documented. He certainly often passed through the old Elbe gate in Pirna.
He sketched it during one of his first encounters with it. Even then, the rest of the old town fortifications were just ruins, overgrown with grass and moss. So the archway stood there, as a picturesque eye-catcher directly on the Elbe, as a natural picture frame for the view of the first sandstone cliffs.
Bernardo Bellotto, gen. Canaletto, had also used it as a motif a few decades earlier. It was demolished in the middle of the 19th century to make way for the new railroad line.
He sketched it during one of his first encounters with it. Even then, the rest of the old town fortifications were just ruins, overgrown with grass and moss. So the archway stood there, as a picturesque eye-catcher directly on the Elbe, as a natural picture frame for the view of the first sandstone cliffs.
Bernardo Bellotto, gen. Canaletto, had also used it as a motif a few decades earlier. It was demolished in the middle of the 19th century to make way for the new railroad line.
