11 FEBRUARY 1871, Page 20

Drawings of Michel Angelo and Raffaello. By J. C. Robinson,

F.S.A. (The Clarendon Press.)—This is one of the books of which it is needful to say but a few words. The collection, which Mr. Robinson describes and criticizes in detail, that of the University galleries of Oxford, is a remarkably good one, and no better and more competent critic than Mr. Robinson could be found. The book therefore, it is scarcely neces- sary to say, is one of the most valuable of its kind. An interesting preface describes the rise and growth of the taste for drawings of the ancient masters, a taste which denotes a genuine love and intelligent understanding of art, and which, happily, can be gratified without the help of the very long parse which the purchaser of pictures requires. This preface is not the less interesting because it contains one passage which no Englishman can read without the keenest feelings of humilia- tion, the histories of the "Lawrence Collection," and of the splendid opportunities which a governing class, which has no raison d'être if it has not culture, so obstinately neglected.