The collection of drawings by Michelangelo and Raphael, housed in the galleries of the University of Oxford, is of such richness that it could stand alongside those admired in Vienna, Florence, Venice, Paris, and Lille without disadvantage. This remarkable collection possesses sixty-five drawings by Michelangelo and ninety-four sketches by Raphael, all recognized as authentic by Mr. J. C. Robinson, one of the most authoritative connoisseurs and critics in Europe.
The Genesis of an Unrivaled Collection
These enormous figures might rightly astonish those unfamiliar with the noble origin of this collection, which was formed by Sir Thomas Lawrence. To his title of great painter, Lawrence wished to add that of an illustrious collector. It was with a brilliant stroke that he took his place among the great connoisseurs of his time. In a single transaction, he purchased the entire Ottley collection for the price of 250,000 francs, and one must agree that he could not have begun a collection destined to be without rival in a better or more dazzling manner.
From that day forward, the active and intelligent expert Samuel Woodburn began to travel through France and Italy, exhausting them of old master drawings to satisfy the taste of the new collector. It was to him, and for Lawrence, that Dominique Vivant Denon sold the superb drawings he had acquired from the Venetian Zanetti, which had come in large part from the Arundel collection.
However, even in London, Lawrence had a formidable rival: Thomas Dimsdale. Like Lawrence, Dimsdale did not shrink from the necessity of acquiring an entire cabinet to secure the possession of a few marvels. Woodburn also served as his intermediary in all his major acquisitions. It was for Dimsdale that Woodburn, in a single journey, purchased the collection of Paignon-Dijonval, the admirable drawings of the Marquis de Lagoy, and the first collection that Jean-Baptiste Wicar had assembled.
When Woodburn, proud of his rich spoils, set foot back on English soil, he found his friend confined to a bed of pain. Despite the intolerable suffering he was enduring, Dimsdale insisted on seeing the sketches by Michelangelo and Raphael and signed a check for 75,000 francs. The next day, he expired. All the drawings gathered by this enlightened connoisseur, who only affixed his mark to works truly worthy of admiration, passed into the hands of Thomas Lawrence for the sum of 137,500 francs.
From that moment, Lawrence no longer had to fear competition. No one would have dared to become his rival, for after him, one could only glean. This was especially true after Count von Fries, in a moment of financial difficulty, ceded to him one hundred and fifty of the best drawings from his own collection.