When fragrance and art meet: 10 Instances where scent inspired art


1.  Parfum Exotique (Exotic Perfume) poem by Charles Beaudelaire (1857)

If there was any poet who understood the true power of scent and made fragrance one of his main inspirations, it is the father of modern French poetry Charles Beaudelaire. His one masterpiece about the topic is the poem entitled ‘Parfum Exotique’ (Exotic Perfume) that was inspired by his lover’s exquisite scent. The short poem describes an exotic imaginary world that he was transported to, after he inhaled her smell with his eyes closed.

Click here to read the poem and its translation in English

Interestingly enough, perfumers were in turn inspired by Beaudelaire’s poem and an eau de toilette was produced in his name, based on the fragrance he described. It is even available for purchase on Barneys.com.

2. Pot Pourri painting by Herbert James Draper (1897)

British artist James Draper had a love-affair with flowers – particularly roses – as he grew up in a house overlooking Covent Garden’s flower market. The roses and their fragrance kept inspiring him and appeared in many of his paintings like the one at the top of this article. This alluring piece celebrates femininity and Draper’s love for roses in a very sensual yet discreet way.

3. Perfume – a novel by Patrick Süskind (1985)

Although the storyline of this infamous best-selling novel involves a serial killer (definitely not for the faint of heart) – it is one literary masterpiece where the sense of smell plays a very central and important role. Born with no body scent himself, a perfume apprentice in 18th century France obsesses over the “perfect scent” and stops at nothing to find it. What’s most interesting about this novel is how in depth it explores the sense of smell and the ways it intensely affects our emotions –something which is scientifically proven, as our olfactory receptors are directly connected to the limbic system which is the centre of emotions in our brain.

4. Meet me in Saint Louis movie (1944)

A lighter approach to the topic of scents and its connection to memory lies in this classic film by Vincente Minnelli. After the main character Judy spends a lovely time with Tom Drake a.k.a The Boy Next Door, he says “Wow, that’s a nice perfume.” Judy blushes, “Do you like it? It’s Essence of Violet. I only take it out on special occasions.” Tom Drake replies “Exactly the kind my grandmother wears.” Just the compliment every woman dreams of hearing, right?

5. When Harry Met Sally movie (1989)

Voted as one of the best romantic comedies of all time, this delightful movie had a ‘fragrance moment’ as well. When Billy Cristal’s character (i.e. Harry) lists all the things he loves about Sally, he says: “I love that after I spend the day with you, I can still smell your perfume on my clothes.” How romantic… don’t you think?
Watch the clip here

6. The Grand Budapest Hotel movie (2013)

Even comedies have spoken about fragrance inspiring characters. Last of which was in Wes Anderson’s hilarious and touching film, where the concierge Monsieur Gustave H. (played by Ralph Fiennes) never forgot to wear a spritz of his favorite L’Air de Panache cologne, so that his scent would follow his steps throughout the pink halls of the majestic hotel.

We even heard that the movie director actually asked a Parisian fragrance boutique to imagine the perfume.
Watch the trailer here

7. Marilyn Monroe photographed by Ed Feingersh

The iconic American actress confessed during an interview in 1954 that she slept with… 5 drops of Chanel No. 5. An iconic moment which now every woman knows about and where perfume became a symbol of seduction.

8. The Perfume Collector novel by Kathleen Tessaro (2013)

Scent continues to inspire writers even till this day. Case in point is this 2013 compelling novel by Kathleen Tessaro. Set in the 1950’s, the story follows Grace, a London socialite on a journey after she receives a letter from a mysterious French woman who leaves her a fortune. From an abandoned Parisian perfume shop to London and back to Paris… Grace discovers – and introduces us – to the fascinating world of perfumers and their muses and the strong connection and power of scent and memory.

9- ‘The Art of Scent 1889–2012’ exhibition – Museum of Arts and Design (MAD), New York

A major exhibition took place in 2012 at NYC’s Museum of Arts and Design which was solely dedicated to scents. Instead of art which can be seen with the eyes, the exhibition aimed to present ‘scent’ as a medium of artistic creation and showcase the work of twelve major perfumers. Additionally, visitors were given the chance to experience these ‘works of olfactory art’ through interactive salons.
For more information, go to MAD’s website.

10- ‘Sillage’ olfactory artwork project by Brian Goeltzenleuchter, The Institute for Art and Olfaction, L.A. (2014)

What does your neighborhood smell like? This is the question artist Brian Goeltzenleuchter posed to residents of Los Angeles as he started working on his project, ‘Sillage’. His aim? To create and bottle the scent for each of L.A.’s 21 zipcodes. After finishing his concoctions, the scent artist then invited patrons to the exhibition where each had to log-in and be sprayed by the fragrance created for his/her specific area. Goeltzenleuchter  added another interesting dimension to the experiment by creating an on-site ‘mix-in-progress’ scent where a drop is added from each visitor’s zipcode as to create a collective scent of the museum which keeps changing.
For more information, click here.

This article was first published on www.houseoflux.com as part of their LUX Perfume Portraits campaign. Watch the campaign video featuring Katrina Kaif here.

Marie France Asia

Photo credit: Herbert James Draper & Flickr

Read more:

The power of scents: How fragrance changed these people’s lives
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