The Savoy as Collectors
After the unification of Italy, the enlarging of the collection became less systematic and more reliant on generous donations (as with Caravaggio’s Sacrifice of Isaac in the Uffizi and the precious group of Franco-Flemish paintings and Sienese works given to the Bargello from the Carrand donation); on the rediscovery of works in the depository and in the villas (such as Caravaggio’s Bacchus and works by Crespi in the Uffizi); and on the exercising of the right of pre-emption (works by Chardin and Van Wittel). Certain Dutch and Spanish paintings (most recently a painting by El Greco and two by Goya, in the Uffizi) were acquired by this means, while two quite significant works, the Turkish Slave by Parmigianino and the Mute by Raphael were commandeered from the galleries in Parma and in Urbino, respectively.
Florence saw an increase in its artistic patrimony when a series of portraits of the French royal family of Louis XV were sent from Parma to the Pitti Palace (where they are now to be found in their original location in the Green Room). Unhappy though this episode may have been for Parma, it was nonetheless an event of historical importance, as the Savoy wished to install the paintings in the Florentine royal palace after the unification of Italy.
Florence saw an increase in its artistic patrimony when a series of portraits of the French royal family of Louis XV were sent from Parma to the Pitti Palace (where they are now to be found in their original location in the Green Room). Unhappy though this episode may have been for Parma, it was nonetheless an event of historical importance, as the Savoy wished to install the paintings in the Florentine royal palace after the unification of Italy.
Marco Chiarini, "From Palace to Museum: The History of the Florentine Galleries"; Paintings from the Uffizi and Palatine Galleries, Boston, 1994, p. 17.