Diptyque is the epitome of Haute Parfumerie. The brand is famous around the world for its refined signature home scents, candles, perfumes and body products and counts many celebrity endorsers including the late Karl Lagerfeld.

Drawn together by a shared creative vision, friends and entrepreneurs Christiane Gautrot, Desmond Knox-Leet and Yves Coueslant opened the first Diptyque store in Paris on 34 Boulevard Saint-Germain in 1961. While Christiane Gautrot graduated from l’Ecole des Arts Décoratifs, Desmond was a painter. Together they designed fabric and wallpaper for British clients. The rest is history.

The beautiful logo was designed by Desmond Knox-Leet and throughout the history of the house, art has always remained at the centre of Diptyque’s creative vision.

The latest artistic collaboration is Diptyque’s series of beautiful home décor created with painter and illustrator Matthieu Cossé. Featured at the Design Parade interior design festival at the Villa Noailles in the past, Cossé has collaborated on murals with Pierre Yovanovitch and Nem Architectes. Cossé paints and he also produces ceramics. One of his recent creative partnerships was with French maison Hermès. He talks to Art is Alive: “Diptyque first contacted me to do illustration work for the “summer essentials” 2022 collection, focused on packaging. Later then I was contacted by the decoration department to initiate a project with ceramics inspired by these illustrations.”

For Diptyque, he has illustrated two exclusive objects ‒ a bowl and pitcher ‒ with forms and decorations inspired by the vibrant landscapes and colourful patterns of the Mediterranean. While his watercolour and gouache paintings are reminiscent of Cézanne and his motifs to Picasso, the inspiration for the Diptyque collection seems more focused on trees, flowers and plants found in the Mediterranean. “The inspiration was more focused on some archetypal vegetation you can find in the south of France: olive tree, prickly pear, pine tree, holm oak. I spent a lot of time in Provence since childhood so I have a lot of memories of the Mediterranean landscape. I had in mind a certain tradition in ceramic decoration that involved collaborations between painters and potters: for example, Metthey and the “Fauves” painters or Artigas and Dufy.”

On the remarkable Evening Bowl, available as limited edition of five unique works, pine parasols trees, sun and eucalyptus illustrations radiate with beauty. The lush and lively landscapes are hand-painted on each piece signed by the artist.

Asked about how it felt to paint on ceramics, Cossé adds: “It is really nice but also quite difficult because there is a strong element of surprise with the firing process. You have to be prepared to accept accidents and inevitably you have to break some pieces. It is important to have an experience in ceramic decoration and to get on well with the potter you work with. That is why it has been a pleasure to collaborate with Sophie Irwin (atelier Kylix) who turned all these plates and pitchers on potters wheel. She also has a strong experience with enamel and oxides so she played a key role in this collaboration.”

Highlights of the collection feature the Sun Bowl, in which the illustration and colorful enamels evoke the works of Picasso and the Golden Age of the city of Vallauris. Picasso designed 633 different ceramic editions between 1947 and 1971, with a number of variants and unique pieces resulting from these initial works. All with the help of the Madoura Atelier. Although he began by producing decorated utilitarian objects, such as plates and bowls, he later produced more complex forms such as pitchers and vases — their handles occasionally shaped to form facial features, or anatomical parts where they depicted animals. In many ways, Cossé follows this trajectory with Diptyque.

Along the process, Cossé discovered more about the brand: “For me Diptyque was mainly associated with interior perfumed candles. In collaborating with the brand I discovered it was an old Parisian institution in “Art de vivre” and decoration. I am happy that these ceramics are part of this history.”

Scented with lemongrass, known for its mosquito-repelling properties, Cossé-illustrated candles are ideal for summer evenings spent outdoors. Summer is not over yet. Their delicate fragrance reveals unexpected facets, floral, citrusy and even spicy. A stylised and colourful illustration that captures the authenticity of nature in the summertime. Limited-edition set of 3 small candles instill scents of lavender leaf, lemongrass and lemon verbena.

What is Cossé’s next project: “Different wall painting, illustration and textile projects, and also focusing on my painting in the studio.”

The remarkable Diptyque / Matthieu Cossé collection of delicious candles and art objects is available here.