Today, some of the works collected by Ryerson almost 150 years ago can be seen hanging on the 3rd floor of the Legislative Building.

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L'Aurora, [ca. 1858]
(after Guido Reni, Italian, 1575-1642)
Augusto Ratti (copyist/dealer)
Oil on Canvas
Government of Ontario Art Collection, 622032

This explains the somewhat unlikely appearance of paintings such as, L'Aurora believed to have been painted by Augusto Ratti after the Italian master Guido Reni and Madonna sel Sacco by Antonio Sasso after an original by Perugino.

These are just two of many such works purchased by Ryerson on the Italian leg of his journey.

Additional works were also acquired in England, France, Germany and Belgium.

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Madonna del Sacco, [ca. 1856]
(after Perugino, Italian, 1446-1524)
Antonio Sasso (copyist)
Oil on wood panel
Government of Ontario Art Collection, 619792

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Landscape in the Neighbourhood of Brussels,
purchased 1855
Jan Baptiste De Jonghe (1785-1844) and
Eugène Joseph Verboeckhoven (1798-1881)
Oil on canvas
Government of Ontario Art Collection, 619788

Landscape in the Neighbourhood of Brussels, for example, was purchased from an Antwerp dealer in December of 1855.

A collaborative effort by two artists of the Flemish School, Jan Baptiste De Jonghe and Eugène Joseph Verboeckhoven, it was Verboeckhoven's job to paint the animals, a skill for which he had acquired a considerable reputation.

Although many of the works acquired by Ryerson on the Government's behalf have been lost, the circumstances of their acquisition bear witness to his determination to bring art to the people of Ontario.