The original Provençal style of the room was abandoned in the 1980s to accommodate a carved and gilded bed (last quarter of the 18th century), traditionally attributed to Giuseppe Maria Bonzanigo, an elegant chest of drawers (c. 1789), probably crafted by Francesco Bolgiè, and a pair of corner cupboards (c. 1780), again by Bonzanigo.

The combination of splendid furniture and extraordinary paintings constitutes one of the most surprising gems of Villa Cerruti. With the exception of an early 16th-century Madonna and Child, one of the finest works by Leonardo’s pupil Marco d’Oggiono, the works arranged in three horizontal rows are all masterpieces of the first half of the 20th century.

The room glows with the reflection of the gilded furniture on the wallpaper and frames. Bought from an antique market and painstakingly adapted by the collector to his paintings, these frames are of particular importance, bearing witness to the unique character of the collection and to Cerruti’s deep knowledge of every single item, not just in aesthetic but also in material and technical terms.

The walls present a riot of forms and colours, as well as some surprising juxtapositions, such as the Bolgiè chest of drawers contrasting with the Futurist orbits and trajectories of Giacomo Balla. René Magritte’s Le Duo (The Duo, 1928) becomes an unusual overdoor panel. Small miniatures of the 18th and 19th centuries enter into dialogue with the fantastic scenes of Yves Tanguy, Marc Chagall and Alberto Savinio. The works of Francis Picabia, Max Ernst, Wassily Kandinsky, Mario Sironi and Georges Braque on the opposite wall form a wonderful page from a textbook of art history that the eye never tires of examining. An elegant portrait by Egon Schiele hangs on the far wall.