The "Pictures and Scents of Caravaggio" Project

On 3 November 2005 a press conference was held in the Hermitage Theatre for a presentation of the "Pictures and Scents of Caravaggio" Project. From 3 until 20 November the Hermitage presents an exhibition and aromatic installation devoted to Caravaggio. One of the world's largest museums, this masterpiece in the fine art world combines with the nine olfactory gradations, which are like a scale of notes, in an unbreakable alliance. The Hermitage, Caravaggio and his painting The Lute-Player, and Laura Tonatto all induce the visitor to take in the aromas of the world around us. From this point of view one may say that the exhibition is an important event in the eternal struggle of those in favor of innovation against the obstacles advanced by our senses. This event became possible thanks to the patronage and financial support provided by the Region of Piedmont, the General Consulate of Italy in St Petersburg and the St Petersburg Branch of the Italian Institute of Culture.

The organizers of this unique, attractive and mysterious exhibition were guided by the desire to give back to the olfactory sense its role of primary importance. The selection of the given painting for that purpose was not an arbitrary one. The Hermitage's Lute-Player by Caravaggio picks a tune on his lute, the madrigal You Know That I Love You by Jacoba Arcadelta, and the sounds of the music are accompanied by aromas emanating from the flowers in a pitcher and from a variety of Mediterranean fruit which appear to be very attractive.

This multi-sensory masterpiece acts on all five senses: sight, hearing, touch, taste and smell. There is an aroma to the painting. This smell was decoded by Laura Tonatto and was described by art historian Alessandra Marini. The aroma took material shape four centuries after the invention of Caravaggio.

In order to enable visitors to sense this aroma, museum director Mikhail Piotrovsky permitted the setting up of an olfactory installation near the painting - a first in the history of the Hermitage. In the room where The Lute-Player is displayed, for a period of two weeks one may once again sniff the aromas of flowers and fruits which inspired olfactory sensations in Caravaggio. Opposite the painting a plexiglass console with nine cylindrical vessels has been installed. The vessels contain nine aromatic essences: six are floral (iris, camomile, jasmine, orange leaf, sweetbrier and damask rose) and three are fruits (fig, plum and pear). The tenth scent, which has been placed in the center of a projection of The Lute-Player on the surface of a table, gives the final aroma named "Caravaggio."

"To the casual observer such an experiment may seem excessively exotic. This is correct if one speaks generally about the idea of recreating a scent to accompany a painting. However, in the case of Caravaggio, such an extension of the senses is justified. Auditory effects are, as it were, created by the scores on the table, and scents are ‘created’ by the symbolic importance of the selection of flowers and the fruits which are just beginning to decay. Unlike the artist’s contemporaries, we do not immediately recognize what aromas are intended. We are offering a sophisticated experiment that is directed at connoisseurs," said Mikhail Piotrovsky, identifying the essence of this exhibition.

A brochure in three languages (Italian, Russian and English) contains an essay by Maurizio Marini, one of the great specialists on Caravaggio; an article by S.N. Vsevolozhskaya, senior researcher of the Hermitage and curator of 17th century Italian painting; and an explanation of both the composition of the bouquet and the symbolic meaning of the essences written by the creators of the installation, Laura Tonatto and Alessandra Marini.

More

At the Press Conference

Laura Tonatto and Alessandra Marini

The installation in the Italian Cabinet

A brochure describing the project