E. T. A. Hoffmann and Carl Maria von Weber were united in their search for new artistic paths, which found expression in Romanticism. Their works are fantastical and fairytale-like and contain facets of Black Romanticism, which sought to capture the uncanny. Both worked in Dresden, knew and appreciated each other and saw themselves as both composers and writers.
With his opera "Undine" in Dresden, Hoffmann created the first great Romantic opera, which Weber followed up with "Der Freischütz". Weber was also inspired by Hoffmann's work "Phantasus" to write his own novel fragment. Both were preoccupied with the idea of a Gesamtkunstwerk and were active in many different ways. To mark the 250th anniversary of Hoffmann's birth and the 200th anniversary of Weber's death, the Kügelgenhaus - Museum of Dresden Romanticism is organising an exhibition on both artists and their work in Dresden.