Course description
Explore the role of perfume in art from 1860 to 1905. We will consider scientific and popular ideas about scent, memory and the visual imagination and demonstrate their influence upon the arts from painting to performance.
What is the course about?
Picturing Perfume
In this introductory class, we will explore the nineteenth-century interest in the visual representation of the invisible sense of smell from academic paintings to art nouveau jewellery and perfume advertisements. In particular, paintings by artists such as John William Waterhouse, Charles Courtney Curran and John Singer Sargent will be analyzed in the context of nineteenth-century ideas about odour, femininity, sexuality and disease. The day will be rounded off by a visit to the National Portrait Gallery to discuss the connotations of floral fragrance in G. F. Watts’s Choosing, a well-known portrait of the Victorian actress Ellen Terry.
Perfume and Performance
In this second class we will consider the role of perfume in nineteenth-century performance art. In particular, we will study the perfume concerts of Sadakichi Hartmann in New York, c.1902, including his A Trip to Japan in Sixteen Minutes in which scents released into the auditorium were intended to inspire visions of the countries passed through en route to the Far East. In addition we will study the American pioneer of modern dance, Ruth St. Denis, who rippled her body to evoke the scent of incense. Both works will give insight into the popular nineteenth-century metaphor of the perfumed Orient.
What topics will we cover?
This course will examine nineteenth-century ideas about perfume and the sense of smell and will reveal how these ideas influenced the making of art and its reception. Key themes include the relationship between perfume, memory, female sexuality, spiritualism and the idea of the Orient.
By the end of this course you should be able to:
- Interpret a wide range of nineteenth-century scent-evocative images and performances.
- Understand the conflicting Victorian notions of perfume as elevated and base, spiritual and sensuous and the impact of such ideas on Victorian notions of beauty.
- Discuss some of the connotations of smell in art.
What level is the course?
The course is open to all. No prior knowledge of the subject is required.
How will I be taught?
Classes will be taught through a mixture of tutor-led presentations and class discussion. There will also be some video-based work and firsthand viewing of a painting in the National Portrait Gallery.
Are there any other costs (e.g. certification, materials, equipment or books I need to buy)?
None.
What feedback will I get?
You will receive regular feedback from your tutor throughout the course, as and when appropriate. At the end of the course you and your tutor are asked to assess the progress you have made.
Will I have a chance to give my views on the course?
Yes, please complete the evaluation form at the end of your course. These are monitored and help us to continually improve our courses.
