The Turkish Room at Villa Medici, Rome's first Islamic-inspired interior. This is what it looked like in the 1800s

Joining the collections of theAcademy of France in Rome is the painting Chambre de l’artiste à la Villa Médicis, dite la chambre turque, painted in 1850 by French painter and former Villa Medici scholar, Alfred de Curzon (1820 - 1895).

The acquisition was made possible through the generous support of Philip and Cathia Hall, and the support of Marie-Cécile Zinsou, president of the Board of Trustees of the French Academy in Rome.

The work returns to its birthplace, the Turkish Room, located in one of the north turrets of the Villa Medici.

In fact, the painting depicts the Turkish Room at the Villa Medici, the artist’s residence during his first year as a scholarship holder at the French Academy in Rome.

Designed in 1833 by painter and director of the French Academy in Rome Horace Vernet (1789-1863), the Turkish room was created after he returned from his first trip to Algeria. It is an early example of an Islamic-inspired interior in Rome, attesting to a fascination with an imaginary Orient: elements in the Arab-Andalusian style, such as the horseshoe arch of the doors and windows, Ottoman ornamental motifs and the more naturalistic ones in the vaulting, coexist. Particularly noteworthy are the colored majolica tiles lining the walls, from the famous Giustiniani pottery in Naples.

Alfred de Curzon’s work provides the viewer with a rare and valuable perspective of the Turkish chamber as it appeared in the mid-19th century, before the addition of the characteristic geometric tile floor, and is a valuable testimony to the original decor of the Turkish chamber as it was designed by Horace Vernet.

Image: View of the interior of the Turkish room at the Villa Medici and Alfred de Curzon’s painting, Chambre de l’artiste à la Villa Médicis, dite la chambre turque (1850; oil on canvas, 33 x 47 cm)

The Turkish Room at Villa Medici, Rome's first Islamic-inspired interior. This is what it looked like in the 1800s

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