DRESDEN, GERMANY.- Restorers of Dresden's Old Masters Picture Gallery work. Until 21 January, the museum effects its annual cleaning and will reopen for visitors the day after.

Old Masters Picture Gallery - The world renown of the Dresden Old Masters Picture Gallery is founded in its outstanding collection of high-ranking masterpieces. Among the primary focuses of its holdings are Italian painting of the Renaissance - as exemplified by major works of Raphael, Giorgione and Titian - as well as works in the Mannerist and Baroque styles. Of equal significance is the inventory of Dutch and Flemish paintings of the seventeenth century. Not only are Rembrandt and his followers represented with a large number of works of superb quality, but the collection also comprises paintings by Vermeer and Ruysdael and the great Flemish artists Rubens, Jordaens and Van Dyck.

The gallery moreover presents major works of Old German and Old Dutch painting by artists such as Jan van Eyck, Dürer, Cranach and Holbein. Splendid paintings by Spanish and French artists of the seventeenth century – among them Ribera and Murillo, Poussin and Lorrain – are also to be found in the collection.

In addition to the quality of the holdings, the spacious setting provided by the Semper Building as well as its magnificent furnishings meet the highest standards of excellence. Hundreds of thousands of art admirers are drawn to this picture gallery every year.