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A Jacobite Gazetteer - Italy
Stupinigi - Palazzina di caccia |
The town of Stupinigi is located about ten kilometres south of Turin. At the centre of the town is a hunting lodge (palazzina di caccia) formerly owned by the House of Savoy. A number of Stuart and Savoy portraits of Jacobite interest hang in the palazzina.1 The first large room entered after the entrance is the stables. This was formerly the Galleria dei Ritratti where some 54 portraits of various princes hung - but as of 2015 the portraits were no longer hung there. The portraits were numbered beginning on the left side at the top and proceeding from top to bottom, down the left side and then back on the right side. No. 2 was a portrait of Queen Maria Clementina, wife of King James III and VIII.2 No. 25 was a portrait of Henrietta Anne, Duchess of Orleans (daughter of King Charles I).3 No. 35 was a portrait of King Charles IV.4 No. 47 was a portrait of King Charles II.5 There were also portraits of the father of King Charles IV, King Victor Amadeus III of Sardinia (nos. 19 and 33) as well as portraits of his mother, Queen Maria Antonia Ferdinanda of Sardinia, (no. 20) and his sister Princess Maria Teresa of Savoy (no. 34). The next room is the Antebiblioteca. As of 2015 there were hung here (not on the walls, but on temporary structures in the middle of the room) about twenty portraits of child princes. These include a number of princes connected with the English and Scottish succession. There is a portrait of Prince Carlo Emanuele of Savoy, Prince of Piedmont (later King Charles IV) by Giuseppe Duprà.6 Over a metal breastplate Charles wears a red coat trimmed with gold braid. Around his neck he wears the collar badge of the Supreme Order of the Annunciation.
There is a portrait of Prince Vittorio Emanuele of Savoy, Duke of Aosta (later King Victor) by Giuseppe Duprà.7 He is shown in a blue dress with a small brown dog.
There is a portrait of Prince Maurizio Giuseppe of Savoy, Duke of Montferrat, younger brother of King Charles IV and King Victor, by Giuseppe Duprà.8 He is shown in a red dress with a javelin and a small brown dog. When the Duke of Montferrat was born, he was seventh in line to the English and Scottish thrones.
There is a portrait of Prince Carlo Felice of Savoy, younger brother of King Charles IV and King Victor, by Giuseppe Duprà.9 He is shown in a green dress with a short sword and a small brown dog. In 1821 Carlo Felice succeeded his brother King Victor as King of Sardinia.
There is a portrait of Princess Maria Giuseppina of Savoy, eldest surviving sister of King Charles IV and King Victor, by Giuseppe Duprà.10 She is shown in a blue dress, holding a dove and pointing to a map. When Maria Giuseppina was born in 1753, she was sixth in line to the English and Scottish thrones. She married the comte de Provence who later succeeded as King Louis XVIII of France. She was the first member of the Royal Family to visit England after the 1750 visit to London by the Prince Regent (later King Charles III). In 1808 Maria Giuseppina and her husband moved to Hartwell House, Buckinghamshire. She died there two years later. Her mortal remains were buried temporarily in the Lady Chapel of Westminster Abbey before being moved to the Cathedral of Cagliari, Sardinia.
There is a portrait of Princess Maria Teresa of Savoy, second surviving sister of King Charles IV and King Victor, by Giuseppe Duprà.11 She is shown seated at a table with flowers.
There is a portrait of Prince Vittorio Amedeo Teodoro of Savoy, Duke of Aosta, attributed to Maria Giovanna Battista Clementi, called La Clementina.12 He is shown in a red dress with a whip and a small white dog. This prince was the eldest grandon of Anne Marie d'Orleans. Throughout his short life (1723 - 1725) he was fourth in line to the English and Scottish thrones.
There are three portraits of the future King Victor Amadeus III of Sardinia, younger brother of the above Duke of Aosta. When he was born in 1726, he was fourth in line to the English and Scottish thrones, but for the last eight years of his life until his death in 1796 he was first in line to the thrones. His two eldest sons were King Charles IV and King Victor. The first portrait, attributed to La Clementina, shows Victor Amadeus as an infant in a silver dress and holding a small white bird.13
The second portrait, also attributed to La Clementina, shows Victor Amadeus in a blue coat with gold braid over a metal breastplate and a red coat.14 On his left breast he wears a jewelled cross. In his right hand he holds a hunting rifle.
The third portrait, definitely by La Clementina, shows Victor Amadeus in a blue coat with gold braid over a metal breastplate.15 His right hand is on a sword and his left hand on a helmet. Around his neck he wears the collar badge of the Supreme Order of the Annunciation. From his left lapel hangs the white cross of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus.
There is a portrait of the younger sister of King Victor Amadeus III of Sardinia, Princess Maria Luisa Gabriella of Savoy, by La Clementina.16 Maria Luisa Gabriella wears a red dress and holds a chain attached to a bird. Around her neck she hangs a jewelled cross. When Maria Luisa Gabriella was born in 1729, she was sixth in line to the English and Scottish thrones.
In the Sala del Bonzanigo of the Appartamento di Levante is an oval portrait of Prince Giuseppe Benedetto of Savoy, Count of Moriana, younger brother of King Charles IV and King Victor; it hangs over a glass mirror. Giuseppe Benedetto wears the family hunting uniform.
The Sala dei Scudieri, the room just before the Salone Centrale, was painted by Vittorio Amedeo Cignaroli in 1777 with scenes of the Savoy family hunting.17 The male members of the court are all shown wearing the family hunting uniform. One scene shows the Savoys setting out for the hunt from the Palazzina di Stupinigi. King Victor Amadeus III of Sardinia is shown riding a dark horse, while his eldest son, the future King Charles IV, is riding a white horse.
In another scene King Victor Amadeus III of Sardinia can be seen pointing out the stag to the future Charles IV whose white horse is rearing.
Another scene shows the "hallali" where the stag is attacked by hounds in the river. The Castello di Moncalieri can be seen in the background.
At the centre of this scene King Victor Amadeus III of Sardinia can be seen pointing. The future Charles IV is on the white horse.
The final scene shows the "curée chaude" when some of the stag's flesh is given to the hounds.
King Victor Amadeus III can be seen at the centre of the scene on a black horse with the future Charles IV immediately behind him on a white horse.
There are numerous other portraits of princes and princesses of the House of Savoy housed at Stupinigi but not currently displayed in parts of the palace open to the public. In the corridoio of the Appartamento del Principe di Carignano there are portraits of King Victor17 and of his younger brother King Charles Felix of Sardinia (no. 82).
Notes 1 Noemi Gabrielli, Museo dell'Arredamento, Stupinigi, La Palazzina di caccia: Catalogo (Torino: Tommaso Musolini, 1966), 96-99. 2 The oval portrait measures 103 cm high by 88 cm wide. 3 The portrait measures 89 cm high by 70 cm wide. 4 The portrait measures 150 cm high by 99 cm wide. 5 The portrait measures 110 cm high by 88 cm wide. It formerly hung at the Castello di Moncalieri. 6 The oil on canvas portrait measures 97.8 cm high by 79.5 cm wide. It was inventoried at Stupinigi in 1880 and 1908. There is another version of the same portrait in the Gabinetto Rotondo of the Museo Civico d'Arte Antica in Palazzo Madama in Turin. Giuseppe Duprà was born in Turin in 1703 and died in the same city in 1784. He was the younger brother of Domenico Duprà who in the 1740s painted numerous portraits of the Royal Family especially of Charles, Prince of Wales, and Henry, Duke of York. 7 The oil on canvas portrait measures 108 cm high by 87.5 cm wide. It was inventoried at the Castello di Moncalieri in 1880 and 1908 and at Stupinigi in 1926. 8 The oil on canvas portrait measures 108 cm high by 87 cm wide. It was inventoried at the Castello di Moncalieri in 1880 and 1908 and at Stupinigi in 1926. 9 The oil on canvas portrait measures 109 cm high by 87.4 cm wide. It was inventoried at the Castello di Moncalieri in 1880 and 1908 and at Stupinigi in 1926. 10 The oil on canvas portrait measures 111 cm high by 89 cm wide. It was inventoried at the Castello di Moncalieri in 1880 and 1908 and at Stupinigi in 1926. 11 The oil on canvas portrait measures 108 cm high by 86.5 cm wide. It was inventoried at the Castello di Moncalieri in 1880 and 1908 and at Stupinigi in 1926. 12 The oil on canvas portrait measures 100.2 cm high by 76.6 cm wide. It was inventoried at the Castello di Moncalieri in 1880 and 1908 and at Stupinigi in 1926. La Clementina was born about 1692 probably at Turin and died in 1761 at Turin. From 1722 onwards she painted numerous portraits for the Savoy court. 13 The oil on canvas portrait measures 107.5 cm high by 83 cm wide. It was inventoried at the Castello di Moncalieri in 1880 and 1908 and at Stupinigi in 1926. 14 The oil on canvas portrait measures 99 cm high by 75 cm wide. It was inventoried at the Castello di Moncalieri in 1880 and 1908 and at Stupinigi in 1926. 15 The oil on canvas portrait measures 99.5 cm high by 75.5 cm wide. It was inventoried at the Castello di Moncalieri in 1880 and 1908 and at Stupinigi in 1926. 16 The oil on canvas portrait measures 98.6 cm high by 75.4 cm wide. It was inventoried at the Castello di Moncalieri in 1880 and 1908 and at Stupinigi in 1926. 16 Vittorio Amedeo Cignaroli was born at Turin in 1730 and died at the same city in 1800. He painted numerous landscapes for the Savoy court. 17 The oil-on-canvas portrait measures 195 cm high by 78 cm wide. Image 1 (Palazzina di caccia di Stupinigi): © Noel S. McFerran 2015. Image 2 (King Charles IV, when Prince of Piedmont): Le stanze dei piccoli principi, testi di Elisabetta Ballaira, Angela Greiseri, e Federico Zeri. Arte Antica '95 (Torino, Umberto Allemandi, 1995), plate 27. Image 3 (King Victor, when Duke of Aosta): Le stanze dei piccoli principi, plate 28. Image 4 (Prince Maurizio Giuseppe of Savoy, Duke of Montferrat, brother of King Charles IV and King Victor ): Le stanze dei piccoli principi, plate 30. Image 5 (Prince Carlo Felice of Savoy, brother of King Charles IV and King Victor): Le stanze dei piccoli principi, plate 29. Image 6 (Princess Maria Giuseppina of Savoy, sister of King Charles IV and King Victor): Le stanze dei piccoli principi, plate 31. Image 7 (Princess Maria Teresa of Savoy, sister of King Charles IV and King Victor): Le stanze dei piccoli principi, plate 32. Image 8 (Prince Vittorio Amedeo Teodoro of Savoy, Duke of Aosta): Le stanze dei piccoli principi, plate 6. Image 9 (King Victor Amadeus III of Sardinia, when Prince of Piedmont): Le stanze dei piccoli principi, plate 2. Image 10 (King Victor Amadeus III of Sardinia, when Duke of Savoy): Le stanze dei piccoli principi, plate 4. Image 11 (King Victor Amadeus III of Sardinia, when Duke of Savoy): Le stanze dei piccoli principi, plate 3. Image 12 (Princess Maria Luisa Gabriella of Savoy, sister of King Victor Amadeus III of Sardinia): Le stanze dei piccoli principi, plate 5. Image 13 (Prince Giuseppe Benedetto of Savoy, brother of King Charles IV and King Victor): © Noel S. McFerran 2015. Image 14 (Sala dei Scudieri, the sortita): Carla Enrica Spantigati, La palazzina di Stupinigi (Torino: Umberto Allemandi, 2007. Image 15 (Sala dei Scudieri, the "lancer"): Spantigati. Image 16 (Sala dei Scudieri, the "hallali"): Spantigati. Image 17 (Sala dei Scudieri): Spantigati. Image 18 (Sala dei Scudieri, the "curée chaude"): Spantigati. Image 19 (Sala dei Scudieri): Spantigati. Image 20 (King Charles IV, when Prince of Piedmont): Sbolzani. |
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This page is maintained by Noel S. McFerran (noel.mcferran@rogers.com) and was last updated October 7, 2017. |