Kids create their own perfume inspired by the Italian Renaissance

The Museum of Fine Arts in Nîmes (France) recently invited me to conduct a perfume creation workshop inspired by an artwork from the temporary exhibition "Drapés, une histoire d'illusion(s)".

The objective of the perfume creation workshop was that each child would create their own perfume inspired by an artwork from the exhibition.

The choice fell on the Italian Renaissance painting " Mystical Marriage of Saint Catherine of Alexandria" from the workshop of Lorenzo di Credi, a 16th-century painter who had as a fellow student during his apprenticeship none other than... Leonardo da Vinci.

I immersed myself in the documentation on the artwork sent by the Museum of Fine Arts, then I set to work to determine the ten ingredients from my perfume organ that would allow children to create their own perfume inspired by this work depicting an episode from the Bible.

I chose ingredients for this practical workshop such as:

• sandalwood thus evoking the wooden panel on which the artwork is painted
• hay, a nod to the stable where Jesus (the child in the painting) was born.
• rose, a scent associated with Mary in the Bible
• bergamot, being an Italian painting, etc...

All in all, "easy" ingredients to assemble for the budding young perfumers who were going to participate in this multi-sensory experience.

The day of the workshop arrived. The first step, before anything else: to discover the work by going to the room in the Museum where it is exhibited.

The mediator from the Museum of Fine Arts presented the artwork to the children.

After many questions from the children, who were very interested in this painting, we went to the workshop room where all the necessary tools for creating their perfume were waiting for them.

Once in, the workshop began with olfaction. I distributed, one by one, to each participant, the olfactory ingredients chosen for the workshop, specifying the link with the artwork.

Once all the ingredients have been smelt, the children selected their favorite ones, and once the formula was written down, they began to assemble it using droppers in small glass vials.

I smelt the first creation of each group of 2, advising them on possible improvements to their formula, or suggesting to create something completely different if they were satisfied with their creation.

I smelt the second trial, then the third. At the end of this practice, each child chose its favorite trial I weighed with my precision scale in a 15ml spray bottle to be taken home as a souvenir of the workshop.

It is always a pleasure to introduce my profession to children, especially in an artistic setting.