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On three floors , 300 paintings from
the fifteenth to the eighteenth
centuries invite visitors to take a
tour of European art and cultural
history and witness the close
interconnection of the different
countries of Europe .
Van Eyck , Dürer , Holbein , Rubens ,
Rembrandt , Poussin , Claude Lorrain ,
Murillo - the " who is who " of
painting is alive here , from the early
Renaissance to the Enlightenment .
It is equally remarkable just how
plentiful the holdings are of works
by single artists : The Gemäldegalerie
boasts the largest collection of
Cranach paintings worldwide , which
offers a thorough overview of the
prolific production of Cranach ' s
workshop .
The collection of pastels by Rosalba
Carriera is also singular .
August III had the famous Venetian
woman painter make portraits of
several members of his family and
of the court , and had 157 pastels
brought to Dresden - seventy - five of
which can still be admired at the
Gemäldegalerie today .
Thorough renovation work on the
museum will continue until 2019 ,
and so the gallery is currently not
open in its entirety . But no one has
to miss out on seeing the major
works of the collection because all
of the most central paintings are on
show in the east wing , whose
renovation is complete . One of the
changes is already in place : A
presentation of selected sculpture
not only enriches the gallery now ,
but also gives a glimpse of the
future presence of ancient
sculptures in the East Hall of the
Semperbau ( Semper Building ).
There too , sculptures and paintings
will be juxtaposed .