Fragonard: The Perfume of Provence

Fragonard: The Perfume of Provence

Celebrate a century of Provençal elegance and craftsmanship through the colorful and whimsical world of Maison Fragonard, a historic perfumer and purveyor of lifestyle goods. Fragonard’s rich history in crafting luxurious perfumes and designing fanciful objects for the home is recounted in this beautifully illustrated book. An ode to the essence of a unique Provençal and Riviera lifestyle, it showcases Fragonard’s exquisite perfume bottle collections alongside stunning interiors, furniture, and tableware, and highlights a century of elegant design and craftsmanship. Lavishly photographed, it offers readers an exuberant glimpse into the timeless charm of the French art of living well. In the 1920s, as the beauty of the French Riviera began to entice a growing number of cosmopolitan tourists to France, Eugène Fuchs, a visionary businessman in Provence with a deep fascination for the world of fragrances, introduced a groundbreaking concept by selling perfume directly to visitors. He founded Maison Fragonard in Grasse in 1926, named in homage to the eighteenth-century painter, and launched a business dedicated to local cultural heritage and the refined elegance of the arts of the period. Fragonard opened perfume museums in Grasse and Paris in the 1970s to share the rich history of perfumery with a wide audience through its extensive collections and, in 2025, opened a textile museum in Arles to house its world-class collection of antique Provençal clothing. Specializing in interior design, Alain Stella is the author of Historic Houses of Paris (2019), Jacques Garcia: Twenty Years of Passion (2023), Jacques Garcia: Villa Elena (2022), and Pierre Frey: A Family Legacy of Passion and Creativity (2023), all published by Flammarion.