The exhibition shows a small group of seven landscape drawings from the collection of the Kupferstich-Kabinett in Dresden. They are among the oldest landscape depictions in Netherlandish graphic art. Hitherto, the first use of landscape as a motif in its own right was always associated with the name of Joachim Patinir, who was active in the 1520s. Technological and art-historical investigations conducted as part of a research project on the typology of Netherlandish drawings in the sixteenth century suggest, however, that the seven Dresden drawings date from earlier, namely around 1500. The draughtsman himself is not known by name. His makeshift or conventional name, ‘Master of the Dresden Wilhelm von Maleval Drawing’ is due to the motif of a work that shows St Maleval in combat with flying monsters. The exhibition provides an exciting insight into recent scientific investigation methods, which have helped to identify the drawing media and the types of paper used.

‘The Invention of the Landscape c. 1500’ is a cooperative venture between the Wallraf-Richartz-Museum & Fondation Corboud, the Kupferstich-Kabinett in Dresden, and the Bundesanstalt für Materialforschung und -prüfung in Berlin.