Divided
into three rooms (Yellow Room, Augustus' Room and Room of the Ambassadors) in
early 1800s by Raffaele Stern (1774/1820) to
create the rooms of the apartment of the Empress Marie Louise, during the
transformation of the palace for the planned residence of her husband Napoleon
Bonaparte, who never actually came to Rome in his life
The recent
restoration work, started in 2001 and still ongoing, revealed the original
fresco decoration with columns and telamons 1656/57 directed by Pietro
Berrettini aka Pietro da Cortona (1597/1669)
YELLOW ROOM
“He started
under the Cavalier d'Arpino, but received the influence that would last
throughout his life after a prolonged stay in Venice. He returned to Rome in
1641 and in the following two decades he used a rich palette of warm and
brownish shades and created works in which the element of landscape often forms
the central point of the composition. He gave his best in small paintings that
reveal an idyllic and even elegiac style, absolutely personal. His masterpiece
as a painter of frescoes at the Quirinal Palace reveals the specific problem of
this group of artists. Again, the landscape plays a predominant part, but the
organization of the painting with a composition of figures, which derives as
much from Raphael as from Pietro da Cortona, shows a trend toward conciliation
with the dominant classicism of the period” (Rudolf Wittkower)
Frescoes in
the great frieze “Stories from the Old Testament” under the direction of Pietro
Berrettini aka Pietro da Cortona (1597/1669) who
also directed the work on the frieze in the two following rooms:
Left wall:
“Joseph
sold by his brothers” by Giovanni Paolo Schor
(1615/74)
“Reconciliation
of Jacob and Esau” by Fabrizio Chiari (about
1615/95)
“Jacob and
the Angel” by Giovanni Paolo Schor
Right wall:
“Explorers
of the promised land” by Giovanni Francesco Grimaldi
(1606/80) from Bologna
“Passage of
the Red Sea” by Jean Miel (1599/1663)
“Moses and
the Burning Bush” by Giovanni Francesco Grimaldi
Two
tapestries “Miraculous Draught of Fishes” and “The Last Supper” 1753/64 by the Gobelins manufactory in Paris
The room
was the dressing room of the new pontiff during conclaves
ROOM OF AUGUSTUS
It was the Throne
Room of Pius IX and of the King of Italy and it is now named after the “Bust
of Augustus” sculpted in 1900 and placed here for Hitler's visit in 1938
Ceiling
1812 with central panel in monochrome “Prophets” 1846 by Tommaso Minardi (1787/1871)
Frescoes on
the great frieze “Stories from the Old Testament”:
Left wall:
“Sacrifice
of Isaac” by Giovanni Angelo Canini (1609/66)
“Exit from
the ark of Noah” by Lazzaro Baldi (about
1624/1703)
“Entrance
into the ark” by Giovanni Paolo Schor (1615/74)
Right wall:
“David
slays Goliath” by Francesco Murgia
“Gideon
squeezes out the dew from the fleece” by Filippo Lauri
(1623/94)
“Victory of
Joshua over the Amorites” by Guillaume Courtois aka
Borgognone (1628/79)
ROOM OF THE
AMBASSADORS
Floor with “Mosaic
with birds” maybe from Villa Adriana in Tivoli
Ceiling “Justice”,
“Wisdom” and “Judgment of Solomon” about 1823 by Francesco
Manno (1752/1831)
Frescoes on
the great frieze “Stories of the Old Testament” 1656/57:
Left wall:
“God
warning Adam and Eve” by Lazzaro Baldi and Gaspard Dughet (1615/75)
“Expulsion
from Paradise” by Bartolomeo Colombo
“Sacrifices
of Cain and Abel” by Filippo Lauri (1623/94) and
Gaspard Dughet
Right wall:
“Judgment
of Solomon” by Carlo Cesi (1626/86)
“Ciro frees
the Israelites from captivity in Babylon” by Ciro Ferri
(1634/89)
“Annunciation”
by Lazzaro Baldi (about 1624/1703)
Among the
paintings “Virtues” by Tommaso Minardi
(1787/1871), fresco “Adoration of the
Shepherds”
by Carlo Maratta (1625/1713) which was covered
in the Savoy period and recovered only in 1925
On the
sides “Angels” 1848 by the Roman Luigi Coghetti
who often worked with his namesake Francesco Coghetti from Bergamo
Below “Monochrome
with the church of S. Maria della Pace” revealed by the recent restoration
Large
fresco “The mission of the apostles” 1864 by Tommaso
Minardi
Tapestries “Stories
of the New Testament” of the beginning of the eighteenth century by the Gobelins manufactory in Paris
