The Architect of Elegance Jean-Pierre Duvelleroy was not a visual artist in the traditional sense of painting or sculpture, but rather a master fan maker and the founder of a legendary French house of luxury. Born in Cherbourg, France, he possessed a unique vision for reviving an accessory that had begun to fade from the Parisian fashion landscape following the French Revolution. In 1827, at the age of twenty-five, he established his own fan house in Paris, navigating a period when the city held fewer than fifteen such specialists. By looking toward South America as a primary export market, h…