La Collezione Giustiniani

Abstract

Silvia Danesi Squarzina, La Collezione Giustiniani. Turin, Giulio Einaudi Editore, 2003. ISBN 88–435–9872–4, 3 vols. Vol. I, xxxv + 560 pp., 270 b. & w. illus.; vol. II, viii + 682 pp., 23 col. illus.; vol. III, xxxv + 397 pp., 46 b. & w. illus. €130. The two sons of a Genoese nobleman (the former ruler of Chios), Benedetto and Vicenzo Giustiniani, were destined for distinguished careers and became two of the greatest Roman collectors at a moment of quite unusual flowering of art in Rome. The two brothers lived in a palazzo which still stands opposite S. Luigi dei Francesi. There, they displayed hundreds of paintings, antique sculptures, reliefs and other artefacts, which they collected together in their villa outside the Porta del Popolo and in the villa at S. Giovanni in Laterano. In this monumental work, Silvia Danesi Squarzina has assembled a lifetime's research on the Giustiniani family and offers incomparable access to a wealth of primary sources and critical material. The three large volumes trace the Giustiniani collection from its genesis to the time of its progressive dispersal. The first volume provides not only a magnificent reconstitution of the collection in pictures but enables the reader to follow the fate of a considerable number of masterpieces down to the present day. The full transcription and an in-depth analysis of all known inventories and Guardaroba entries allow a good understanding of the distinct contributions of both collectors. The nucleus of the picture gallery, chosen by Cardinal Benedetto, consisted of Venetian, Genoese, Tuscan and Bolognese works from the sixteenth century among which were some canvases by Luca Cambiaso. The inventory drawn up in 1638, following the death of the Marchese Vicenzo, lists no fewer than 632 pictures and about 1,800 sculptures, among which some 240 pieces were contemporary.