Dulwich Picture Gallery

In 1790, a king’s ambition sparked a journey that would lead to the creation of Dulwich Picture Gallery. King Stanislaw August Poniatowski of Poland commissioned art dealers Sir Francis Bourgeois and Noël Desenfans to create a royal collection. Their mission was to ignite a passion for fine arts in Poland. Bourgeois and Desenfans embarked on a five-year odyssey across Europe. They amassed a treasure trove of masterpieces. But fate intervened. By 1795, Poland ceased to exist, leaving the collection without a home. Undeterred, Bourgeois and Desenfans tried to sell the collection, but found no takers. They sold smaller pieces to acquire even more significant works, storing their growing collection in Desenfans’ London home. Dulwich Picture Gallery’s story took another turn when Desenfans died in 1807. Bourgeois inherited the collection. He then bequeathed it to the College of God’s Gift in Dulwich upon his death in 1811. Bourgeois’s will stipulated the construction of a gallery, designed by Sir John Soane, to house the collection. Dulwich Picture Gallery opened its doors to the public in 1817. It stands as England’s oldest public art gallery. Soane’s innovative design, with its interlinked rooms and skylights, became a model for art gallery architecture. He designed the skylights to bathe the paintings in indirect natural light. This showcased the beauty of the oil paintings. The gallery’s collection boasts an impressive array of Old Masters. These include works by Rubens, Rembrandt, and Gainsborough. The gallery also houses a mausoleum. Bourgeois, Desenfans, and Desenfans’ wife are buried there. Dulwich Picture Gallery has endured its share of drama. In 1966, thieves stole eight masterpieces, including works by Rembrandt and Rubens. The paintings were recovered within days. One Rembrandt, “Portrait of Jacob de Gheyn III,” has earned a place in the Guinness World Records as the most frequently stolen artwork. It has been recovered from a German left-luggage office, found on a bicycle, and even discovered under a graveyard bench. Today, sophisticated security systems protect this much-sought-after painting at Dulwich Picture Gallery.