Dresden, the Ruins of the Pirnaische Vorstadt

The etching was made by Bellotto after his own painting which was believed lost for a long time. For almost two centuries the canvas led a hidden existence as an anonymous work in the depot of the Mus�e des Beaux-Arts at Troyes, where it was thought to represent the city of Lisbon following its destruction by an earthquake in 1755. It was not until 1974 that it was recognized as a painting of the ruins of the Pirnaische Vorstadt of Dresden by Bellotto. In 1986 the painting was identified as the one named in the inscription on the etching, as being owned by Prince Xaver of Saxony.