The Louvre Museum in Paris is renowned for its extensive and prized art collections, but now visitors will be able to experience and appreciate their favourite artworks through smell and not just sight.
Home to the famous Mona Lisa among other attractions, the French art museum decided to commission perfumes in honour of some of the most revered art pieces in its collections.
Image: Officine Universelle Buly
The Officine Universelle Buly, a French perfumerie specialising in cosmetics, recently had the privilege to work with some grand works, pinning down their essence through interpretation and then translating that into something you can wear.
From perfumes to candles, you’ll be able to come home with a lasting, pleasant smelling souvenir that reminds you of Paris – and your favourite masterpiece.
‘I have a special connection with the Louvre,’ says Ramdane Touhami, co-founder of the Officine Universelle Buly. ‘It forms part of the everyday French landscape. All that you see, you see with smell. I’ve always wanted to put utilise this double-sensory perception in service of great works.’
1. Venus de Milo – Alexandros of Antioch (101 BC)
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2. The Winged Victory of Samothrace (La Victoire de Samothrace), 200-190 BC
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3. Conversation in a Park – Thomas Gainsborough (1745)
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4. La Nymphe au scorpion – Lorenzo Bartolini (1846-1851)
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5. La Grande Odalisque – Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres (1814)
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6. The Valpinçon Bather (La Baigneuse) – Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres (1808)
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7. Joseph the Carpenter (Saint Joseph le charpentier) – Georges de La Tour
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8. The Lock (Le Verrou) – Jean-Honoré Fragonard (1777)
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‘This project is a rare privilege for Parisians like us. How are these works perceived beyond their materiality? This collaboration is our response,’ says co-founder Victoire de Taillac.
Some of your favourite works and their fragrant interpretations range from perfumes (75ml, R2,300), candles (R2,300), scented soap sheets (R300) and scented postcards (R100) styled in the range. If you’re visiting, or know of someone going to Paris sometime this year, make sure you bring back a scented tribute to a timeless masterpiece. Officine Universelle Buly can be found beneath the Louvre Pyramid on the lower floor of Allée du Grand Louvre from now until 6 January 2020. Check out the Louvre website for more information.
Image: Officine Universelle Buly
