A Jacobite Gazetteer - Modena

Palazzo dei Musei

This palace, located in Largo Porta Sant' Agostino, houses several separate museums.

In the Sala Campori of the Museo Civico d'Arte can be seen a portrait of Queen Maria Beatrice, wife of King James II and VII. The portrait is a copy of one by Benedetto Gennari. ¹ It was donated to the museum in 1929 by Marquess Matteo Campori, having been in his family's collection since before 1694. ²

Queen Mary Beatrice, when Duchess of York

The Museo Civico also owns a portrait by Adeodata Malatesta of Princess Maria Theresa, comtesse de Chambord, elder daughter of Queen Mary III and IV and sister of King Francis I. ³ The portrait shows Maria Theresa seated at a balustrade, probably in the Palazzo Cavalli Gussoni (now Palazzo Franchetti) in Venice. She wears a fur wrap and a four-strand white pearl necklace, and has strands of black pearls in her hair. The painting has been in the collection of the Museo Civico since 1955. There is a companion portrait of Maria Theresa's husband, Henri, comte de Chambord, also by Malatesta; it is presently displayed in the Palazzo Ducale in Modena.

Princess Maria Theresa, comtesse de Chambord

The Museo Civico del Risorgimento has been closed for renovations for over twenty years. It contains an extensive collection of items of Jacobite interest, for which see the separate page.

The Biblioteca Poletti houses the "Collezione Malatestiana", a collection of photographs of paintings by Adeodata Malatesta. The collection includes a photograph of a sketch of Princess Maria Beatrice (daughter of Queen Mary III and II and sister of King Francis I) with her husband Infante Juan of Spain (later Carlist claimant to the throne of Spain and legitimist claimant to the throne of France) and their two sons. ⁴

Website: www.comune.modena.it/biblioteche/poletti.

Princess Maria Beatrice, Infante Juan of Spain, and their sons

The Galleria Estense was at one time the art collection belonging to King Francis I. In 1854 he opened it to the public, and in 1868 he gave it to the city of Modena. The gallery is open Tuesday, Friday, and Saturday 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.; Wednesday and Thursday 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.; Sunday 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.; closed Monday.

A number of portraits of members of the Royal Family owned by the Galleria Estense are presently displayed in the Palazzo Ducale.

The Galleria Estense owns an oil painting of Saint John the Baptist (San Giovannino) by Queen Mary III and II. ⁵ The young John is shown seated; he carries a cross-ended staff in his right hand and strokes a lamb with his left hand. At his feet is a scroll on which is written "Ecce agnus Dei" (Behold, the Lamb of God).

Saint John the Baptist, by Queen Mary III and II

The Galleria Estense has a very fine collection of medals. Among the most interesting of these are the ones which have been added in the late nineteenth and the twentieth centuries.

The most important piece is a bronze medal 95 mm in diameter which commemorates the solemn entry of Francis, Duke of Cornwall (later King Francis I) and his new wife Princess Adelgunde of Bavaria into Modena, April 16, 1842. ⁶ Designed by Luigi Mainoni (1804-1853) and Domenico Cavani (1819-1893), the medal shows on its obverse the busts of Francis and Adelgunde in three-quarter profile facing towards each other; Francis and Adelgunde are dressed as young Roman aristocrats. On the reverse of the medal is a Latin inscription:

A
PERPETVA MEMORIA
DEL GIORNO XVI APRILE
MDCCCXXXXII
QVANDO
IL SOLENNE ARRIVO
DEGLI AVGVSTI NOVELLI SPOSI
FRANCESCO FERD. D'AVSTRIA
PRINCIPE EREDITARIO DI MODENA
E ADELGONDA DI BAVIERA
DAVA PEGNO AI SVD. ESTENSI
DI LVNGA E SECVRA
FELICITÀ

To
the perpetual memory
of the day, April 16,
1842,
when
the solemn arrival
of the august newlyweds,
Francis Ferdinand of Austria,
Hereditary Prince of Modena,
and Adelgunde of Bavaria,
assured the Modenese
of a long and secure
happiness.

Entry of Francis and Adelgunde into Modena

Another very rare item is a bronze medal 41 mm in diameter which commemorates Francis' younger brother Prince Ferdinand (father of Queen Mary IV and III). ⁷ Designed by Carlo Benedetti, the medal shows on its obverse a bust of a young Ferdinand facing left. Around the edge is a Latin inscription:

FERDINANDUS ATEST · ARCHID · AUSTR · ANNOS · XIIII · PRAEF · COPIAR · PRIN · DESIG ·

Ferdinand of Este, Archduke of Austria, aged 14, captain, heir presumptive.

The reverse of the medal shows an old man (symbol of the River Scoltenna) lying down and pointing to the left towards an eagle which stands atop a column with the inscription "PRISCA FIDES" (The Old Loyalty). On the ground are military trophies. In the background is a landscape of hills and trees with the castle of Verrucola (given by the Emperor Henry IV to the Este family in 1077). At the bottom is an inscription "VIII. ID. DECEM. A. MDCCCXXXV." (December 6, 1835).

Prince Ferdinand

Another bronze medal 42 mm in diameter commemorates the return of Duke Francis IV (husband of Queen Mary III and II) to Modena in 1814. ⁸ Made by Luigi Manfredini following a design of Geminiano Vincenzi, the medal shows on its obverse a bust of Francis IV facing left. The reverse of the medal shows a classical female figure (Peace) leading a naked winged male figure carrying a shield with the arms of the House of Este.

There is an extensive collection of medals of the heads of the House of Savoy and their wives. Among these is a bronze medal 54.5 mm in diameter of King Charles IV (King Charles Emanuel IV of Sardinia). ⁹ Designed by Pietro Thermignon (1818-1884) in 1864, the medal shows on its obverse a bust of Charles facing right; Charles wears a highly embroidered coat and the collar of the Most Holy Order of the Annunciation. Around the edge is a Latin inscription:

CAR. EMANVEL IV. VICT. AM. III F. SARD. REX IV.

Charles Emanuel IV, Fourth King of Sardinia, son of Victor Amadeus III

On the reverse of the medal is another Latin inscription:

REGNO
A GALLIS SPOLIATVS
IVRA SVA
FRATRI CESSIT
ANNO MDCCCII

In the year 1802,
he abdicated to his brother
the kingdom
which had been taken
from his rule by the French.

King Charles IV

There is a bronze medal 55 mm in diameter of Charles' wife Queen Marie Clothilde of Sardinia. ¹⁰ Designed by Gaspare Galeazzi in 1864, the medal shows on its obverse a bust of Marie Clothilde facing left. Around the edge is a Latin inscription:

M. CLOTILDES BORBONIA CAR. EM. IV. VXOR.

Marie Clothilde de Bourbon, wife of Charles Emanuel IV

On the reverse of the medal is another Latin inscription:

SANGVINIS CLARITATEM
MORVM SANTIMONIA
ILLVSTRAT

She showed
the purity of her blood
with the holiness of her life.

Queen Marie Clothilde of Sardinia

There is a bronze medal 54 mm in diameter of King Victor (King Victor Emanuel I of Sardinia). ¹¹ Designed by Domenico Bentelli (1807-1885) in 1864, the medal shows on its obverse a bust of Victor facing right. Around the edge is a Latin inscription:

VICT. EMANVEL I. CAR. EM. IV. FR. SARD. REX V.

Victor Emanuel I, Fifth King of Sardinia, brother of Charles Emanuel IV

On the reverse of the medal is another Latin inscription:

POTIUS QUAM
DATAM FIDEM FALLERE
SPONTE
IMPERIO A FRATRE SUSCEPTO
ABDICAVIT

Rather than
break faith with
his wife,
he abdicated,
and was succeeded by his brother.

King Victor

There is a bronze medal 53 mm in diameter of Victor's wife Queen Maria Teresa. ¹² Designed by Luigi Arnaud in 1864, the medal shows on its obverse a bust of Maria Teresa facing left. Around the edge is a Latin inscription:

M. THERESIA AVSTRIACA VICT. EMANVELIS I. VXOR

Maria Teresa of Austria, wife of Victor Emanuel I

On the reverse of the medal is another Latin inscription:

MEDIOLANI
NATA AN. MDCCLXXIII.
NUPTA AN. MDCCLXXXIX
GENVAE DEFVNCTA
AN. MDCCCXXXII

Born at Milan
in the year 1773;
married in the year 1789;
died at Genoa
in the year 1832.

Queen Maria Teresa

There are also medals of the parents of King Charles IV and King Victor (King Victor Amadeus III of Sardinia and his wife Queen Maria Antonia Ferdinanda), and also of their younger brother King Charles Felix of Sardinia and his wife Queen Maria Cristina.

Notes

¹ Benedetto Gennari was born in Cento in 1633 and died in Bologna in 1715. Between 1689 and 1691 he painted a number of portraits of King James II and VII, Queen Mary Beatrice, and the Prince of Wales (later King James III and VIII). This particular portrait measures 63 cm X 49.3 cm.

² Daniele Benati and Lucia Peruzzi, Musie Civici di Modena: I Dipinti Antichi. (Modena: Franco Cosimo Panini, 2005), 233.

³ Adeodata Malatesa was born in Modena in 1806 and died in the same city in 1891. Between 1834 and 1852 he painted a number of portraits of different members of the Royal Family as well as paintings on other subjects for the Royal Family. The painting of Princess Maria Theresa, an oil on canvas, measures 102 cm X 87 cm. It was formerly misidentified as a portrait of the Electress Maria Leopoldina of Bavaria, aunt of Duke Francis IV of Modena. Cf. Adeodata Malatesta, 1806-1891: Modelli d'Arte e di Devozione (Milano: Skira, 1998), 153-154.

⁴ Adeodata Malatesta, 1806-1891: Modelli d'Arte e di Devozione, 244, 252.

⁵ Albano Biondi, Il Palazzo Ducale di Modena: sette secoli di uno spazio cittadino (Modena: Panini, 1987), 276. Cf. S. Pinto, "La promozione delle arti negli Stati italiani", Storia dell'Arte Italiana (Torino: Einaudi, 1979-present), pt. 2, vol. 2, 992, and fig. 975.

⁶ Elena Corradini, Museo e Medagliere Estense tra Otto e Novecento. (Modena: Franco Cosimo Panini, 1996), 65-66 and 147. Inv. n. 3617. The medal was purchased by the museum in 1910 or 1911. Francis and Adelgunde had married in Munich, March 30, 1842.

⁷ Corradini, 45 and 142. Inv. n. 8512. The medal was donated to the museum in 1904 by Senator Giuseppe Camurri. It probably commemorates Ferdinand being made a knight of the Order of the Eagle of Este. Cf. La Voce della verità, il 10 dicembre, 1835.

⁸ Enrica Pagelaa, Le Raccolte d'Arte del Museo Civico di Modena (Modena: Franco Cosimo Panini, 1992), 197.

⁹ Corradini, 56. Inv. n. 9423.

¹⁰ Corradini, 56. Inv. n. 9456.

¹¹ Corradini, 56. Inv. n. 9482.

¹² Corradini, 56. Inv. n. 9461.

Image 1 (Queen Mary Beatrice, when Duchess of York): Benati and Peruzzi, 233.

Image 2 (Princess Maria Theresa, comtesse de Chambord): Adeodata Malatesta, 1806-1891, 153.

Image 3 (Princess Maria Beatrice, Infante Juan of Spain, and their sons): Adeodata Malatesta, 1806-1891, 252.

Image 4 (Saint John the Baptist, by Queen Mary III and II): Storia dell'Arte Italiana (Torino: Einaudi, 1979-present), pt. 2, vol. 2, fig. 975.

Image 5 (Entry of Francis and Adelgunde into Modena): Corradini, 124.

Image 6 (Prince Ferdinand): Corradini, 80.

Image 7 (King Charles IV): Corradini, 106.

Image 8 (Queen Marie Clothilde of Sardinia): Corradini, 106.

Image 9 (King Victor): Corradini, 107.

Image 10 (Queen Maria Teresa): Corradini, 107.