Rural Life Within the Lille Tapestries
The Lille Tapestries Room is among the rooms within which many of the institutional activities of the Head of State take place
"Dance at a Tavern" TapestryQuirinale Palace
The Lille tapestries
The room takes its name from the tapestries hanging on the walls.
There are five tapestries, woven in the French city of Lille around 1715—1720: the Vegetable Harvest, the Spinning-Wheel, Shepherds and Milkmaids, the Card Game, and Dance in a Tavern.
"Card Game" TapestryQuirinale Palace
This set of hangings are among the most valuable within the Quirinal Palace, and was acquired from Philip of Bourbon, Duke of Parma.
Some were designed by the Flemish tapestry-maker Guillaume Werniers.
The Yarn Swift (1715/1720) by Manufacture by Guillaume Werniers, cardboards by a French-Flemish follower of David II TeniersQuirinale Palace
The models for the tapestries were taken from works by the Flemish artist David Teniers, famous for his paintings staging episodes from an idealized version of country life.
Shepherds and milkmakers, Lille Teniers series (1715/1720) by Manufacture by Guillaume Werniers, cartoons by a Franco-Flemish follower of David II TeniersQuirinale Palace
The tapestries are dedicated to rustic themes against a background of vast landscapes.
They have as their subject life moments in the countryside and scenes of leisure, depicted from a light, idyllic viewpoint.
The vegetable harvest, Lille Teniers series (1715/1720) by Manufacture by Guillaume Werniers, cartoons by a Franco-Flemish follower of David II TeniersQuirinale Palace
The great realism of the natural details, typically Flemish, combine with the pleasant country backdrops and the peaceful poses of the figures in an idealized tone, consistent with French taste.
The Vegetable Harvest is an example of this.
The tapestry's setting is shadowy high ground that dominates a valley enclosed by hills, with a castle in the middle.
The scene shows farm workers around a wheelbarrow, on which rests a basket overflowing with vegetables.
Among them, a girl carries a basket full of flowers on her head.
The borders that frame the tapestries also match the rural subjects: they are decorated with a rich repertoire of work tools, farmyard animals, plants, and musical instruments.
Virtual reconstruction of the Tapestry Room in Lille in the 18th centuryQuirinale Palace
The history of the room
The purpose of the room has changed over the course of time. It was originally a large antechamber from which the pontiff's private rooms could be accessed.
In the 18th century it was used to hearings and consistories. The virtual reconstruction shows its appearance at that time.
Virtual reconstruction of Napoleon's bedroomQuirinale Palace
The image shows the room in the 19th century, when it was the bedroom of Napoleon.
During the napoleonic occupation, indeed, french officials divided the space into two rooms to obtain the bedroom and the toilet of the emperor.
View of the Lille Tapestry RoomQuirinale Palace
The original dimensions were restored by Pope Pius VII upon his return to Rome.
With the transformation of the Quirinal into Italy's royal palace, the room became Queen Margherita's bedroom.
View of the ceiling in the Lille Tapestry RoomQuirinale Palace
The vaulted ceiling
The various historical periods that the room has gone through have also left their mark on the vaulted ceiling.
Only the Four Virtues and their ornamental backgrounds, which accompanied the decorations with religious subjects desired by Pius VII, remain from the papal period.
The five paintings on canvas from the late 1600s that complete the vaulted ceiling were inserted at the beginning of the 1900s, when the room became the salon for the new Imperial Apartments.
They were acquired in 1903, on the antiquities market from the painter Alessandro Palombi.
Consolle (1725) by Roman manufactureQuirinale Palace
The console tables
Finally, the console tables produced in Rome around 1725, and originating from the Rospigliosi Palace, stand out among the furnishings in the room.
Their legs are characterized by refined carvings that model female busts.
Trophies of arms are carved on the crosspieces of the console tables.
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