Before and during the Seven Years War (1756-1763) between Prussia and Austria (and their respective allies), artistic activity in Germany came to a halt. Painters were living and working in their particular cities; however, they sought inspiration from fellow artists from other countries. Many courts encouraged the adaptation of French styles and trends, for example in Bavaria, where the palace in Schleissheim and the Schloss Nymphenburg emulated several French models of interior decor and furnishings.
The structure of those years was composed of various elements: French, Italian and Dutch influences often coexisted with one another in one work of art. In the landscapes to the left and the right of the Rhine, at the courts of the Prince Electors and everywhere that great and not so great princes ruled, French tastes dominated everything. The Academies built along French lines naturally summoned French academics to become their directors. For example, Louis de Sylvestre (1675-1760) went to the Saxon Court at Dresden and was there appointed Court Artist by Augustus I the Strong (1670-1733). The famous European portrait painter Antoine Pesne (1683-1757), was summoned to the court in Berlin.
Italian architecture, too, left behind many traces in Germany. After all, church architecture followed the precepts of the Vatican. Monasteries and abbeys used their regained power and growth, not to mention their prosperity, to gratify their passion for building. Particularly in Bavaria and Austria, most monasteries were either built from new or re-constructed off of the model of the Roman church in this era. In addition, the towers were embellished with a German detail: onion-shaped imperial roofs.
However, the architecture of the second half of the 18th century—in Germany, at least—can be interpreted as a transition into neoclassicism.
Most of the buildings were constructed by secular princes. The residences that were often the central point of artistic efforts epitomised the reawakened passion for architecture which was a sign of the renewed awareness after the turmoil of the Reformation. The most important architectural activity that place outside southern Germany was in Berlin and Dresden.
In Dresden, Matthäus Daniel Pöppelmann (1662-1736) received from his prince the commission to plan the building of a Zwinger (tower) on the site of a former fortress between the outer and inner wall of fortification, which was originally envisaged as part of a grand architectonic ensemble which was then for financial reasons not made reality. The arrangement was meant to contain “in the style the Roman state, luxury and pleasure buildings”, every conceivable element of showpiece pleasure areas. Here above all, in the “show castle”, was where the summer revels of the Saxon Court were to take place.
The ground plan of the tower forms a rectangle, relieved by two great semi-circles, with dimensions of 107 x 116 metres. The central space is enclosed by galleries (arcades with platforms and balustrades, broken by large, two-storey pavilions on the corners and in the middle. The pavilions – the Mathematisch-Physikalischer Salon, the French Pavilion with the Nymphenbad planned by Balthasar Permoser (1651-1732), the German Pavilion and rounded off by the Wallpavilion, – with their grottos and spring fountains were conceived as rest and recuperation rooms into which the company could withdraw to recover from their festivities. The tower was thus a festival ground with the décor of a grand stateroom. This was made clear by the pillars festooned with flowers, by the vases on the balustrades and the window cases reminiscent of mirror frames. The southern end of the area is formed by a museum (1846-1856) built by Gottfried Semper (1803-1879). In stark contrast to the Zwinger, there is also the Japanese Palace (1715-1737), its name originated from the design and shape of its roof. Built by Pöppelmann and Zacharias Longuelune (1669-1748), who had worked at the Saxon Court since 1713, this palace was a prominent contribution to the architectural history of Saxony.
Another Dresden structure of this period is the Baroque evangelical Frauenkirche (Church of Our Lady) (1728-1743) with its impressive cupola. This is a central structure approximately 90 metres high. The municipal master builder George Bähr (1666-1738) had started it but died before its completion. It was finished, after Bähr’s sudden death, by two master builders who tried to continue in Bähr’s style. Completely destroyed by the great bombing raid of February 1945, its reconstruction, with the aid of donations from all over the world, has helped restore its former glory. The renovation project was completed in 2005.
Somewhat tardily, Augustus the Strong in the end had to convert to the Catholic faith in order to become King of Poland, and the Frauenkirche was complemented by the Hofkirche (Royal Court Church), the magnificent Catholic Cathedral of St. Trinitatis (1739-1754), both the planning and the building of which were part of a cooperative project of a quartet of architects. Although the project was started by the Italian master builder Gaetano Chiaveri (1689-1770), apparently Chiaveri had to abandon the construction as a result of some disputes with some court attendants. The building was then completed first by Sebastian Wetzel and Johann Christoph Knöffel (1686-1752) and finally by Julius Heinrich Schwarze (c. 1706-1775). Particularly striking is the super elevated central tower, which stands above the main entrance at a height of approximately 85 metres. This church, with the exception of the tower, was also destroyed by the heavy bomb attacks in February 1945. However, here the rebuilding was started in 1946 and completed around 1987.
Certainly not in number, but definitely in significance, the buildings of Berlin were in no way inferior to those in Dresden. In Berlin, a spirit prevailed after the assumption of government by Prince Frederick I (1657-1713) which differed from all of the other German princely courts. For political and religious reasons, there were strong feelings against France and when the Prince sought to embellish his residence with new buildings and works of art he drew from the artistic resources of the Netherlands, bound to him by family ties, and from the circle of Protestants who had fled from France for religious reasons. The first monumental buildings which were built in Germany, where the Middle Ages had left behind no buildings which might attract imitation, bore the stamp of the Dutch Baroque style.