The collection of Prince Eugenio of Savoy-Soissons and Flemish and Dutch painting

The project to reorganise the second floor of the Galleria Sabauda at the Musei Reali in Turin is now completed with the rearrangement of the extraordinary collection of Prince Eugene of Savoy, Count of Soissons, one of the leading figures of European events between the late 17th and early 18th century. A refined and highly cultured intellectual, he amassed a prestigious art collection, housed in his Viennese residences. He died in 1736, leaving as universal heir his niece Vittoria of Savoy-Soissons, who put the immense estate up for sale. Thanks to the diplomatic efforts of Count Luigi Malabaila, the Savoy ambassador to Vienna, King Carlo Emanuele III of Sardinia succeeded in acquiring the picture collection, which boasted a superb selection of works by Nicolas Poussin, Guido Reni and Francesco Albani, as well as an exceptional group of Flemish and Dutch paintings, with masterpieces by Antoon van Dyck, Jan Brueghel the Elder, Paul Bril, Gerard Dou, Jan Griffier, Paulus Potter and David Teniers. The collections of Flemish and Dutch paintings from the 15th to the 17th century will also be put back on display in the rooms of the Galleria Sabauda adjoining the rooms of Prince Eugenio's collection, with works by Van Eyck, Van der Weyden, Memling and Rembrandt.