Next spring, a permanent exhibition of the Dresden Collection of Prints and Drawings is to open in the Dresden Royal Palace in Germany.

The collection was founded in 1720 as an independent institute and is said to be one of the world’s oldest collections of graphic art. It contains almost 450,000 exhibits comprising early wood and copper engravings, through artistic drawings, colour wood engravings and book illustrations to modern posters and photographs.

The collection will be displayed in a variety of alternating exhibitions. The first will be Views to the World – From Dürer to Picasso, which opens on 23 April.

The main exhibition, although unconfirmed, is likely to be Rembrandt – the Dresden Drawings, which will run from 6 August to 3 October 2004.

The Palace says the Rembrandt collection is one of the most important in the world and is being shown for the first time in 40 years.