Family Portraits
The busts of Giovan Luca and Eugenio from the collection of Stefano Durazzo (1965–2021)
Giovan Luca and Eugenio were brothers: the eldest and the second-eldest of Gerolamo Durazzo’s seven children. For over a century, their busts have been part of the collections housed in this residence, which both brothers purchased from the Balbi family in 1679 as part of a project to enhance the family’s prestige. Giovan Luca died just twenty-eight days after signing the contract, leaving Eugenio in charge of the building’s reconstruction, which, after twenty years of work, transformed it into the largest patrician residence in Genoa.
The ambition of the two Durazzo brothers marked a fundamental leap in the family’s standing within the Republic’s political and financial strategies, a point perfectly expressed in the busts of the two Genoese nobles. The two marble works are, in fact, a clear statement in favour of the innovations of the Roman Baroque, which in the preceding decades had transformed the city of the popes thanks to the revolutionary ideas of the leading artists of the time, foremost among them Gian Lorenzo Bernini. It is no coincidence that the extension of the palace in Via Balbi, featuring a new atrium, monumental staircases, a courtyard, a garden and the Teatro del Falcone, was entrusted by Eugenio to Carlo Fontana, Bernini’s heir and a central figure of the Baroque at the height of its European influence.
The National Museums of Genoa are deeply grateful to the current owner of the two works for having done everything possible to facilitate the realisation of this exhibition, returning these two extraordinary busts to their original setting – a perfect metaphor for a happy period in the fortunes of the Durazzo family and their dynastic ambitions.
TICKETS
The exhibition is part of the tour itinerary and is therefore included in the admission ticket to the National Museums of Genoa (full price: €12/reduced price for 18-25 year olds: €2/eligible visitors and MNG card holders: free).
For further information: palazzorealegenova@cultura.gov.it