Edgar Jayet and Villa Medici Unveil a Refreshed Suite with Inspired Works by French Artists
The Galerie Creative Mind devised the space as a place of study and reflection
Home of the French Academy in Rome since 1803, Villa Medici has been the setting for residences for many legendary French artists. As part of the “Re-enchanting Villa Medici” program to redesign the landmark’s 16th-century suites, Galerie 2026 Creative Mind Edgar Jayet was commissioned to revamp a guest room.
“It’s on top of one of the towers and is like a little jewel,” says the designer and furniture maker, who devised the space, known as Room 27, as a place of study and reflection. Working with interior architecture firm Rinck, Jayet enriched the accommodation with botanical references in his collaborations with former laureates of the Fondation Bettencourt Schueller craftsmanship grand prize. Those artisans include Nicolas Pinon on Japanese-technique lacquer work for the furniture, silversmith Nicolas Marischael for a mirror, and François-Xavier Richard of Atelier d’Offard for block-printed wallpaper.
While the room has no views of the estate’s famous garden, Jayet sought to bring some of those elements inside through the work of the artisans. “I wanted to create some kind of inner landscape within the room,” says Jayet.
The commission came as quite the challenge for Jayet given the Villa Medici’s importance in the French cultural landscape, with icons such as Jean-Honoré Fragonard, Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, and Charles Garnier completing residencies there. “Most of France’s art history has been connected to this place for the last 400 years,” he says. “It’s the highest recognition for a creative.”
The same can be said for the designers who have participated in reimagining the spaces there. A comprehensive overhaul of the reception rooms in 2022 was overseen by Kim Jones and Silvia Venturi Fendi followed by a reimagining of the historic rooms by India Mahdavi in 2023. The result has created a rich dialogue between Villa Medici’s architectural heritage and its modern spirit. That delicate balance is something Jayet has more than mastered in his creation. As he explains, “My biggest goal was to be out of fashion—something that talks about the building’s history but will work into the future.”
A version of this article first appeared in print in our 2026 Late Fall Issue under the headline “Environmental Studies” Subscribe to the magazine.