Heirs to a wealthy family of cloth merchants from Aix, the Boyers acquired the Fonscolombe estate on the banks of the Durance River in 1715, where they built an elegant château. In 1741, Honoré Boyer was ennobled as secretary to the king. Admitted to the Second Order, the Boyers of Fonscolombe bought positions in Parliament and companies in regiments, and pursued their interest in the arts.

Heirs to a wealthy family of cloth merchants from Aix-en-Provence, the Boyers acquired the Fonscolombe estate on the banks of the Durance River in 1715, where they built a mansion. Laurent Boyer de Fonscolombe (1716-1788) was one of the greatest French collectors of the 18th century. His son Emmanuel I (1744-1810), a distinguished naturalist and advisor to the Parliament of Provence, acquired the barony of La Mole, near Saint-Tropez, in 1770. In 1864, Emmanuel II (1810-1875) was confirmed as Baron of La Mole by Napoleon III. A talented musician, he was also passionate about geology, botany, and entomology.

The eldest son, Charles, was initially a finance inspector. He married Alice de Romanet de Lestrange, originally from Ardèche, with whom he had five children. Upon the death of his father, Charles and his wife retired to the La Mole estate, where he continued his family’s naturalist traditions. Charles had a particular fondness for his daughter Marie, who inherited the family’s artistic talents.

When Marie grew into a beautiful young woman, her great aunt Gabrielle, Countess of Tricaud, persuaded her parents to send her to Lyon. Marie left the pastoral life of La Mole for the Sacré-Cœur school in Lyon, where she received the education of young girls from respectable families, while continuing to develop her talents as a painter. One day, her great aunt introduced her to a distant cousin, Jean de Saint-Exupéry, whom she married on June 8, 1896, at the Château de Saint-Maurice.