Parfums de Marly announces its partnership with the world’s most visited museum to enhance a remarkable collection of 18th -century masterpieces. Starting in September 2024 and for a period of three years, Parfums de Marly will be working alongside the musée du Louvre on a major project to restore a wing of the Decorative Arts department, known as the salles Cressent, to its former glory.
A first for the Maison de Haute Parfumerie, this initiative represents a most prestigious tribute to the Enlightenment, as well as an opportunity to reassert its passion for French cultural heritage.
A Shared Vision
“The golden age of perfumery, the 18th century also represents the apogee of refinement and the French art de vivre. The galleries that will be restored at the Louvre bear witness to a unique savoir-faire as realized by artists, goldsmiths and ingenious cabinetmakers such as Charles Cressent. Participating in the conservation and transmission of that heritage is an honor for Parfums de Marly, as well as an immense joy for me personally, given my longstanding passion for 18th-century French history.”
– Julien Sprecher, founder and artistic director of Parfums de Marly
“When we began discussions with Parfums de Marly, we naturally found out that we had a lot in common, because the Objets d’Art department presents contemporary objects from the Château de Marly. The support of Parfums de Marly has enabled us to be increasingly ambitious and to turn this into a project of excellence.”
– Olivier Gabet, director of the Decorative Arts department at the Louvre
Restoring the Splendors of the 18th Century
In the heart of the Louvre, the Decorative Arts department counts nearly 22,000 pieces, of which only 8,000 are on display due to their extreme fragility. Dedicated to the 18th century, the Cressent rooms in the Richelieu Wing are among the museum’s best-kept secrets. Bearing witness to an exceptional century, these rooms are brimming with masterpieces – furniture, objects, tapestries, paintings, and more — from the great royal manufactures as well as Royal collections. With the support of Parfums de Marly, this renovation will focus on overall scenography in order to enhance the visitor experience, featuring an updated decor, optimized lighting, a reorganization of the spaces and “distance settings” to protect the works. Selected pieces signed by Charles Cressent – including two cupboards, a chest of drawers and a flat desk – will undergo careful study to assess whether their condition warrants restoration.
An Immersion in French Art de Vivre
The aim of this scenographic redesign is to bring spaces steeped in history back into the limelight, to showcase the excellence of this collection and to create a more immersive setting that will be conducive to exploring and capturing the imagination. Armchairs face each other in a salon where erudite men and women gathered; a vase is placed precisely on a mantelpiece to emphasize the organic lines of the nascent Rococo style; interiors are not only refined but also more comfortable thanks to furniture that is less imposing than in the previous century… Detail after detail, an entire French art de vivre comes to light. A true immersion in 18th-century life.
A Three-Phase Installation
Work on lighting scenography began in September 2024. There will be a break in the first half of 2025 to coincide with the exhibition devoted to fashion in the Louvre, which will be held in all the rooms of the Objets d’Art department (24 January – 21 July 2025). Renovations will then resume with the installation of distance settings, podium furniture and scenography plans. Finally, the teams will carry out a preparatory study and the restoration of Cressent furniture.Throughout the project, Parfums de Marly will post updates on its website and social media accounts, before celebrating the inauguration and reopening of these rooms to the public in 2026.
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