A review by Theodore K. Rabb of the exhibition catalogue Prince Eugene: General-Philosopher and Art Lover (Agnes Husslein-Arco, ed.)
This catalogue records an exhibition that pays tribute to the Prince Eugene of Savoy’s many achievements. It is held in the lower half of the Belvedere in Vienna, a two-part palace that is a contender for the title of the most imposing townhouse ever built, and which Eugene spent over a decade completing during the 1710s and 1720s. Although more than 300 objects are on display, ranging from sculptures to manuscripts, weapons to portraits, they barely scratched the surface of his possessions. His library alone, now owned by the national library, contained some 15,000 volumes. He had two Van Dycks, seven Guido Renis, and hundreds of Dutch and Italian paintings. At the heart of the Albertina’s collection of prints, the largest in the world, are the 255 volumes of engravings by masters such as Dürer that ultimately came from Eugene. (…more at The Art Newspaper website…)