The “AirParfum” technology developed by Puig and unique in the world of perfume makes it possible to appreciate up to 100 different fragrances without overloading our sense of smell while respecting the identity and different notes of each perfume. Through the four diffusers in the Samsung interactive touchscreens available for use in the gallery, visitors can appreciate the smell of the 17th-century elements present in the paintings.
Allegory
This perfume, created by Gregorio Sola, draws inspiration from the bouquet of flowers that the allegorical figure of smell (painted by Rubens) holds in her right hand. Its ingredients are rose, jasmine and carnation. The world of perfume considers jasmine the king of flowers given its strength and luminosity and the rose the queen because of its seductive fragrance and ability to combine well with other olfactory families. The spicy facets of the carnation add volume and sensuality to the bouquet.
Gloves
The elites of Early Modern Europe would perfume their gloves to disguise the foul smell that resulted from tanning leather and to create a pleasing fragrance. At the time, Spanish perfumed gloves were highly valued. Rubens (who painted the figures in this scene) left Spain in 1629 carrying two gloves perfumed with amber as gifts for the infanta Isabel Clara Eugenia, ruler of the Southern Netherlands.
The fragrance that we can smell here reproduces the smell of a glove scented with amber using a recipe from 1696. It consists of resins, balms, wood, and flower essences with a hint of suede.
Fig tree
This perfume, developed by Gregorio Sola, interprets the green, humid fragrance under the shade of a refreshing fig tree on a summer’s day. We can detect the velvety texture of its leaves and feel the dark, wooden tones of its trunk and branches.
The fig tree originated in Northern Asia Minor. It has grown spontaneously in the Mediterranean Basin for centuries. In this painting by Jan Brueghel, the small tree is planted in a clay container so that it can be brought outside on sunny days but kept inside during the cold winters of Northern Europe.
Orange blossom
The essential oil distilled from orange blossoms and used in perfumery is known as neroli; it is the scent that we can smell here. The distillation devices on the left side of the painting were used to refine this kind of product.
The term “neroli” originates with Marie-Anne de la Trémoille, whose several titles included Princess of Nerola, a town in Lazio. In the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries she made this fragrance fashionable by using it to perfume her gloves, clothing and baths.
In Northern Europe, where Jan Brueghel painted this scene, citrus trees were highly valued and necessarily raised in greenhouses.
Jasmine
When jasmine flowers are submerged in a fatty, volatile liquid, their aromatic components are enriched. After that liquid is saturated, it is lightly heated in order to force it to evaporate: the resulting wax is called “concrete”. When this semi-solid mass is dissolved in pure alcohol, a highly aromatic oily mixture is obtained. This is known as “absolute”. What we can smell here is the exquisitely floral aroma of an absolute of jasmine. Its scent is delicate yet intense, with green, creamy facets and a slight animal note.
Jasmine smells differently throughout the day: it is more restrained in the morning than at night, when it is more opulent. Like many other plants that we can see in this painting, jasmine is an import from warmer climates.
Rose
Roses are the best known of all flowers. Shakespeare wrote in Romeo and Juliet: “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell just as sweet.” According to Pliny the Elder, in the first century the rose was the most used flower in perfumery.
As described by a perfumer, the fragrance of a rose is fresh, floral, velvety and intense with green facets and a slight fruity touch, combined with spicy notes and a subtle hint of honey.
Three hundred thousand roses, picked in the early morning, are needed to obtain 1 kg of essence.
Jan Brueghel has included eight varieties of roses in this painting, including damask and centifolia, the most used in perfumery.
Iris
Iris root is one of the priciest ingredients in perfumery–its value is twice that of gold, due to its complex and time-consuming elaboration process. The absolute is obtained not from the flower, as is the case with other plants, but from its rhizome (called orris root) which must mature between five and seven years before it can be pulverized into orris butter and distilled.
It is cultivated mainly in the fields of Tuscany surrounding Florence, where the iris has symbolized the city since the Middle Ages. In the first century, Pliny the Elder wrote that iris root was used to make ointments.
Daffodil
The daffodil used in perfumery is cultivated mainly in the Aubrac region of France. It is harvested at the end of May and in early June. In the seventeenth century, daffodil essence was obtained by distillation. It is now obtained through extraction with volatile solvents applied to the flowers, a method which produces more essential oil.
For this technique, 1.300 kg of flowers are needed to obtain 1 kg of absolute. One person can pick approximately 105 kg per day.
Its unique fragrance is strong and intoxicating, with subtle hints of apricot and peach combined with notes of leather, olive and a floral and hay background.
Civet
The African civet has a sac between its hind legs that secretes a thick yellowish musky fluid formerly used in fine fragrances. Because of the ingredient’s stabilizing properties, it was used to bind together other scents in order to prolong their durability on the skin or an object. Its smell is strong and animal-like in that it recalls excrement. In the seventeenth century, perfumers would masquerade it with flowers, wood, spices and balms.
For centuries, civet oil was one of the main ingredients of animal origin in perfumery. It has since been replaced with a synthetic substitute, which is what we can smell in this sample.
Spikenard
A painted stone relief on one of the buildings depicts the biblical episode of the anointing at Bethany: “Mary brought in a pound of pure nard, a very costly ointment, to anoint the feet of Jesus […] and the house was filled with the scent of this perfume”.
The nard mentioned in the gospel is an aromatic herb from India that is quite expensive. When Jan Brueghel painted this scene, nard used in perfumery originated in Mexico and was grown in Europe. Its current cost can be higher than 10.000 € per kg. Due to its strength and intensity, the essence of nard in a perfume highlights the character of the other floral notes present.