Savoy Gallery, Turin

Seven centuries of painting in the collections of the House of Savoy

The Savoy Gallery is one of Italy’s leading art galleries and preserves the collections assembled over the centuries by the House of Savoy. Its displays include masterpieces of Italian, Piedmontese, Flemish and Dutch painting, with works dating from the Middle Ages to the nineteenth century.

Since 2014, the Gallery has been housed in the New Wing of the Royal Palace and forms part of the Royal Museums of Turin. Its collections trace the development of European painting through artists such as Duccio di Buoninsegna, Fra Angelico, Andrea Mantegna, Paolo Veronese, Orazio Gentileschi, Jan van Eyck, Hans Memling, Rubens, Van Dyck and Rembrandt.

History

The origins of the collection are closely connected with the history of the House of Savoy. From the sixteenth century onwards, following the transfer of the ducal capital from Chambéry to Turin, the Savoy family progressively expanded its painting collections.

The works were kept in dynastic residences, particularly the Royal Palace, Palazzo Carignano and other palaces belonging to different branches of the family.

An important expansion occurred during the eighteenth century with the acquisition of the collection of Prince Eugene of Savoy-Soissons, one of the most celebrated European military commanders and collectors of his time.

In 1824, numerous paintings from Palazzo Durazzo in Genoa entered the Savoy collections. These acquisitions particularly strengthened the Italian, Flemish and Dutch sections.

The museum was officially founded by Charles Albert and inaugurated on 2 October 1832 as the Royal Picture Gallery. Its first home was Palazzo Madama, where 365 paintings were displayed.

In 1865, the collection was transferred to the Palace of the Academy of Sciences, the building that also houses the Egyptian Museum. It remained there for almost 150 years.

It officially adopted the name Savoy Gallery in 1933. The transfer to the New Wing of the Royal Palace began in 2012, and the new installation opened in 2014.

The New Wing of the Royal Palace

The Savoy Gallery occupies the New Wing, built between the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries on the eastern side of the royal complex.

The building is connected to the Royal Palace, Museum of Antiquities and Royal Gardens, creating a single extensive museum route.

The relocation made it possible to arrange the works in larger spaces equipped with lighting and climate-control systems suitable for preserving paintings.

The rooms have a modern and relatively restrained museum design. Walls, distances between works and lighting are intended to facilitate the observation of the paintings without competing with them.

Organisation of the route

The Gallery extends across several levels and is principally organised according to chronological, geographical and collecting criteria.

The sections include:

• Piedmontese painting from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance;
• Italian painting from the fourteenth to the sixteenth century;
• Renaissance and Mannerism;
• seventeenth- and eighteenth-century Italian painting;
• Flemish and Dutch painting;
• works associated with Prince Eugene of Savoy;
• the Riccardo Gualino collection;
• dynastic paintings and portraits of the Savoy court.

The display may be modified because of exhibitions, loans, restoration or new acquisitions. Not every work belonging to the Gallery is exhibited at the same time.

Piedmontese painting

The Gallery preserves one of the most important collections for studying Piedmontese painting between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance.

Artists represented include:

• Giacomo Jaquerio;
• Giovanni Martino Spanzotti;
• Macrino d’Alba;
• Defendente Ferrari;
• Gaudenzio Ferrari;
• Gerolamo Giovenone;
• Bernardino Lanino;
• Guglielmo Caccia, known as Moncalvo;
• Tanzio da Varallo.

These paintings make it possible to follow the development of local schools and their relationships with Lombard, French, Flemish and central Italian art.

The collection demonstrates that Piedmont was not an artistically isolated region, but a territory crossed by commercial and cultural exchanges between Italy and lands north of the Alps.

Italian painting

The Italian section documents several fundamental periods in art history, from the Middle Ages to the eighteenth century.

Artists represented include:

• Duccio di Buoninsegna;
• Fra Angelico;
• Antonio del Pollaiuolo;
• Filippino Lippi;
• Andrea Mantegna;
• Giovanni Bellini;
• Agnolo Bronzino;
• Paolo Veronese;
• Tintoretto;
• Guido Reni;
• Guercino;
• Orazio Gentileschi;
• Sebastiano Ricci;
• Giambattista Tiepolo;
• Bernardo Bellotto.

The presence of Tuscan, Venetian, Emilian, Roman and Neapolitan schools makes it possible to compare different approaches to perspective, colour, light and composition.

Flemish and Dutch painting

The Flemish and Dutch collection is one of the most prestigious in Italy.

It includes works by:

• Jan van Eyck;
• Rogier van der Weyden;
• Hans Memling;
• Pieter Bruegel and artists from his circle;
• Peter Paul Rubens;
• Anthony van Dyck;
• Gerrit Dou;
• Rembrandt;
• Jan van Huchtenburg.

These paintings are distinguished by their attention to detail, rendering of materials, use of light and precision in depicting faces, fabrics, landscapes and objects.

The strength of the northern European collection derives mainly from Savoy collecting and the collections of Prince Eugene.

Principal works

The Gallery’s best-known masterpieces include:

• the Gualino Madonna by Duccio di Buoninsegna, one of the most important works in the Riccardo Gualino collection;
• the Madonna and Child by Fra Angelico;
• the Stigmatisation of Saint Francis by Jan van Eyck;
• the side panels of Rogier van der Weyden’s Annunciation Triptych;
• Hans Memling’s Passion of Christ;
• Tobias and the Angel by Antonio del Pollaiuolo;
• Tobias and the Archangels by Filippino Lippi;
• Andrea Mantegna’s Madonna and Child with Saints;
• Paolo Veronese’s Feast in the House of Simon;
• Orazio Gentileschi’s Annunciation;
• Rembrandt’s Old Man Sleeping by the Fire;
• Anthony van Dyck’s Portrait of the Three Eldest Children of Charles I of England.

The presence and location of individual works may vary because of restoration, loans or temporary exhibitions.

The Stigmatisation of Saint Francis by Jan van Eyck

The Stigmatisation of Saint Francis is one of the Gallery’s most precious paintings. It is relatively small but contains an extraordinary wealth of detail.

Saint Francis is shown receiving the stigmata, accompanied by Brother Leo. Behind them is a meticulously constructed landscape containing rocks, vegetation, buildings and distant figures.

Optical precision and the rendering of light are fundamental characteristics of Jan van Eyck’s painting and fifteenth-century Flemish culture.

A second, very similar version is preserved at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. The relationship between the two paintings has long been the subject of study.

The Passion of Christ by Hans Memling

Hans Memling’s Passion of Christ brings together numerous episodes from the final days of Jesus’s life within a single landscape.

Instead of dividing the events into separate panels, the artist creates a complex continuous narrative. Viewers must follow the figures through streets, buildings and urban spaces.

The painting’s modest dimensions contrast with its exceptional number of figures and details. It deserves careful, close observation within the limits permitted by the museum.

The Annunciation by Orazio Gentileschi

Orazio Gentileschi’s Annunciation is one of the most important seventeenth-century Italian works in the Gallery.

The painting combines an elegant composition with intense, controlled light. Fabrics, objects and architectural elements are described with remarkable precision.

Caravaggio’s influence can be recognised in the use of light and the physical presence of the figures, although Gentileschi maintains a more refined and lyrical style.

The Riccardo Gualino collection

Riccardo Gualino was an entrepreneur, patron and collector active during the first half of the twentieth century. His collection included paintings, sculptures, archaeological objects, furniture and Asian art.

An important part of the collection entered the Italian State collections and is displayed within the Savoy Gallery.

Duccio’s Gualino Madonna is one of its best-known works. The collection reflects an international taste capable of combining different periods, cultures and techniques.

The display may also include sculpture, ivory, goldsmiths’ work and decorative objects, extending the route beyond painting alone.

Dynastic portraits

The Gallery preserves numerous portraits of members of the House of Savoy and other European courts.

These works did not merely perform a family or commemorative function. Official portraits communicated rank, alliances, dynastic continuity and political power.

Clothing, jewellery, armour, insignia and settings were carefully selected to define the sitter’s public image.

Comparing the portraits reveals changes in fashion, court ceremony and the representation of monarchy.

Conservation and restoration

Paintings require constant monitoring of environmental conditions. Light, temperature and humidity must remain within limits compatible with the preservation of panels, canvases, pigments and frames.

Some rooms may have relatively low lighting to reduce the deterioration of more sensitive works.

Restoration may involve the painted surface, support, frame or previous treatments carried out over the centuries. During this work, paintings may be temporarily removed from display.

Scientific investigations, including X-rays, infrared reflectography and pigment analysis, provide further information about materials and the artists’ creative processes.

Cultural importance

The Savoy Gallery recounts both the history of European painting and that of Savoy collecting.

The works were not assembled according to a single original museum project, but through inheritances, purchases, diplomatic gifts, dynastic transfers and acquisitions on the art market.

The collection therefore also documents political and cultural relations between Turin, the Italian courts, France, Flanders, the Netherlands and other European territories.

Its inclusion in the Royal Museums allows visitors to connect the paintings with the Royal Palace apartments, Armoury, Library and other aspects of court life.

Visitor experience

The Gallery is extensive and contains numerous works. A rapid visit requires at least an hour and a half, while a detailed tour may take two or three hours.

To avoid an overly tiring experience, visitors may initially focus on a few principal sections:

• Piedmontese painting;
• Italian Renaissance masters;
• Flemish and Dutch painting;
• the Gualino collection;
• dynastic portraits.

Labels provide essential information, but a guide or audio guide can help explain provenance, symbolism and relationships between the works.

A complete visit to the Royal Museums, including the Royal Palace, Armoury, Museum of Antiquities and Savoy Gallery, can take most of the day.

Accessibility

The Gallery occupies a modern museum building incorporated into the historic Royal Palace complex. Its principal floors are connected by lifts, and the route is generally accessible to visitors with reduced mobility.

Before visiting, it is nevertheless advisable to confirm:

• the accessible entrance currently in use;
• whether the lifts are operating;
• any temporarily closed rooms;
• availability of seating along the route;
• presence of adapted toilets;
• concessions for disabled visitors and companions.

The considerable length of the route may be demanding for people who have difficulty walking or standing for extended periods.

Location and transport

Entrance to the complex: Royal Museums, Piazzetta Reale 1, Turin.

The Savoy Gallery stands in the historic centre near Piazza Castello, Turin Cathedral, Teatro Regio and the Palatine Gates.

The nearest stops include Castello and Garibaldi, served by several bus and tram routes.

The complex is approximately twenty minutes on foot from Porta Nuova and Porta Susa railway stations and can also be reached by public transport.

Visitors arriving by car should consider the limited-traffic zone and parking difficulties. Paid underground car parks are available nearby.

Tickets and useful information

The Savoy Gallery is included in the Royal Museums route. Depending on current conditions, the ticket may therefore also provide access to other sections of the complex.

Opening hours, prices, concessions and accessible rooms may change. Checking the official website before visiting is advisable.

Official website: museireali.beniculturali.it

Photography and filming are subject to museum regulations. Flash, tripods and professional equipment may be prohibited or require authorisation.

Pros and cons

Pros

• High-quality collection: it contains important Italian and northern European masterpieces.
• Exceptional Flemish painting: this is one of the most significant collections in Italy.
• Rich Piedmontese section: it presents artists less frequently represented in international museums.
• Broad chronological range: the collection documents several centuries of painting.
• Major masters: Van Eyck, Memling, Mantegna, Veronese, Gentileschi, Van Dyck and Rembrandt.
• Modern display: lighting and gallery spaces generally favour close observation.
• Gualino collection: sculpture and decorative arts complement the paintings.
• Part of the Royal Museums: the works can be connected with the history of the Savoy court.
• Generally accessible route: the floors are connected by lifts.
• Less crowded than some major Italian galleries: it often provides a quieter experience.

Cons

• Extensive route: it can be tiring when combined with the entire Royal Museums complex.
• Large number of works: an unselective visit may become overwhelming.
• Some masterpieces may be absent: loans and restoration can temporarily alter the display.
• Low lighting in certain rooms: necessary for conservation, it can limit visibility.
• Occasionally concise labels: a guide or audio guide is useful for more detail.
• Orientation is not always immediate: moving between floors and sections can cause some uncertainty.
• Limited seating in certain areas: relevant for visitors who tire easily.
• Considerable time required: a detailed visit takes at least two hours.
• Difficult parking: public transport is preferable because of the central location.

Overall assessment

The Savoy Gallery is an outstanding art museum, less internationally famous than some of Italy’s major galleries but possessing exceptional collections.

Its strengths include Flemish and Dutch painting, the Piedmontese section and masterpieces of the Italian Renaissance and seventeenth century. The modern installation in the New Wing provides an orderly and functional environment for viewing the works.

The size of the route requires time and some selection, particularly when visiting the other sections of the Royal Museums on the same day. Overall, the Savoy Gallery is strongly recommended for art enthusiasts and anyone wishing to understand the collecting taste and cultural history of the House of Savoy.

Mini-glossary

Art gallery: a museum or collection devoted mainly to paintings.

Polyptych: an artwork composed of several connected painted panels.

Triptych: a painting or artistic complex consisting of three panels.

Panel painting: a painting executed on a wooden support.

Mannerism: a sixteenth-century artistic movement characterised by elegant, complex and often deliberately artificial forms.

Infrared reflectography: a technique used to observe preparatory drawings and alterations hidden beneath paint.

Provenance: the history of an artwork’s ownership and transfers over time.

Patron: a person who financially supports artists and cultural activities.