For fifty-four years, Martin von Wagner (1777–1858) was a central figure in the "German-Roman" community during the early and mid-nineteenth century. It was in this vibrant environment – a network of artists, archeologists, art historians, art dealers, patrons and collectors from which a new idea of the Eternal City emerged – that Wagner assembled a significant collection of artworks, which he later bequeathed to the university in his hometown of Würzburg. The thousandsof drawings by Italian artists from the fifteenth through the nineteenth century have long been regarded as the highlight of these holdings. For the first time, a substantial selection of sheets from all regional schools is being presented in a lavish publication, released on the occasion of a joint exhibition by the Martin von Wagner Museum of the University of Würzburg and the Museo Vesini Rubin in Gradara.
Volume 1 contains approximately 130 catalogue entries, each prepared by a group of leading specialists in the respective artists. In addition, five essays examine specific aspects of the Wagner Collection and its context, also offering a wealth of high-quality reproductions of his Italian drawings. Volume 2 broadens the perspective, as Wagner’s collection also included a vast number of prints, paintings, a well-equipped library, ancient marbles, bronzes and terracottas as well as plaster casts. Drawing on a wide range of sources, this pioneeringin-depth study illustrates the genesis and character of the Wagner Collection.