DRESDEN.- The renovation work in the eastern half of the Semper Building is hotting up as it reaches a conclusion. The section has almost been completed and will be re-opened on 30 October 2015. Before then, the entire collection is to be closed briefly from 14 September to 29 October 2015 for refurbishment.

The museum building, constructed to plans by Gottfried Semper between 1847 and 1855 in a Renaissance Revival style, has been undergoing a thorough overhaul since the spring of 2013. To keep one part of the building at a time open to visitors from Saxony and around the world, the renovation is taking place in two stages. Thus, while building work goes on in the eastern half, some 400 paintings are on show in the western wing in a new hang designed by the director of the gallery, Prof. Dr. Bernhard Maaz.

Work in the east section is now almost complete, and it will be re-opening on 30 October 2015. To arrange the presentation in that part of the building, the entire Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister (Old Masters Picture Gallery) will be forced to close briefly from 14 September to 29 October 2015. During that time the paintings will be moved from the west to the east wing. In the process, the hang used in the west wing, which met with a highly positive reception from visitors, will once again be adapted to suit the different space available in the east wing. The museum’s well-known, much-loved works will then once again be on view, in particular Raphael’s “Sistine Madonna” (1512/13), Correggio’s “Nativity” (1522/30), Vermeer’s “Girl Reading a Letter by an Open Window” (from around 1659) and Liotard’s “The Chocolate Girl” (around 1744/45).

During the closure, the Residenzschloss with its world-famous Grünes Gewölbe, Riesensaal, Türckische Cammer, Kupferstich-Kabinett and newly opened Münzkabinett will also be opened, as an exception, on Tuesdays, meaning that it is open every day of the week from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. The other museums run by Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden also remain accessible with their unique variety of exhibits, including the Porzellansammlung, the Mathematisch-Physikalische Salon, the Galerie Neue Meister and the Skulpturensammlung in the Albertinum, as well as the Museum für Sächsische Volkskunst and the Kunstgewerbemuseum at Pillnitz Palace.

From 1 November 2015, the second stage of renovation will take place with the extension of the west wing. Work on the gallery building is due to be complete by the end of 2017. The re-opening of the fully renovated Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister is planned for 2018.

Overview of construction work at Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister:

• 13 September 2015: Last day for visits to the Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister in the Semper Building

• 14 September to 29 October 2015: Entire Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister closes

• 29 October 2015: Press conference on the construction work and new presentation of masterpieces in the eastern wing

• 30 October 2015: East section of the Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister re-opens to visitors

• From 1 November 2015: Construction work starts on the west side