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all the colours
all the tastes
or just
nougat
9 scenes from the continuous mural by Tombarel
Frères along the 300 steps ascent
GRASSE INTERLUDE
Reviewed by ANDRE BEAUMONT
This unscripted visit was mostly about seeing colourful art but too short to be particularly studious.
Grasse is known for its perfumeries which I have visited previously at length.
The Notre Dame du Puy de Grasse cathedral has been, perhaps a little surprisingly for a Romanesque church built in the 13th century when the episcopal seat of the bishop of Antibes was moved to Grasse, the home to three Rubens paintings that arrived in 1972. It also has a 1855 organ that is undergoing a national organ restoration appeal. The 1738 side chapel contains a Jean-Honoré Fragonard painting.
Raising the Cross
St Helena of Constantinople
The Crown of Thorns
Fragonard's The Washing of the Feet
This tower forms part of the town hall
There is the much taller cathedral bell tower behind which is the visible landmark
Entrance to the courtyard of the town hall
If you like the Wallace Collection there is a good chance you will like the Fragonard Museum, containing a world leading collection of art by three Grasse painters, Jean-Honoré Fragonard, Jean-Baptiste Mallet and Marguerite Gérard who essentially plied their trade in Paris.
The Visitation by Jean-Honoré Fragonard. Théophile Gautier thought he could see the light, the finesse and the grace of a Tiepolo in it.
Descent from Grasse to La Napoule by Jean-Honoré Fragonard
The Empress Marie-Thérèse presenting the future Emperor Josef II to the Hungarian grandees by Alexandre-Évariste Fragonard
Afternoon in the Country by Jean-Baptiste Mallet
The Reading of the Letter by Jean-Baptiste Mallet
The Lesson of Henri IV by Auguste Évariste Fragonard
Minature by Marie-Anne Gérard
The Good News by Marguerite Gérard
There are 30 paintings by Marguerite Gérard on show and few museums give such prominence to a female artist. Just before her 25th birthday a painting by her was offered at public auction and the high price it achieved drew much attention.
The last portrait and the official image of Jean-Honoré Fragonard after his death by Marguerite Gérard