Thought to be a self-portrait of the artist, circa 1510.
(Photo:Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain)
Experiencing the past through art is a common pastime.
A painting or sculpture is a visual medium, andLeonardo da Vinciexcelled in this area.
Thought to be a self-portrait of the artist, circa 1510. (Photo:Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain)
TheRenaissance geniuss visual masterpieces have awed and inspired for generations.
However, few know that da Vinci was also a connoisseur of smell.
Da Vinci lived in a world heavy with perfume.
An example of a 17th-century Italian pomander. (Photo:The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Public Domain)
Perfumes covered up body odors, warded off disease, and enhanced sacred spaces.
Wealthy people carried their scents in elegant silver or gold pomanders.
These small containers were then attached to clothing by a chain.
A 17th-century pomander crafted as a miniature ship. (Photo:Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain)
They were often filled with strange perfumes, such as civeta scent from the glands of a civet cat.
Another unusual scent of the Renaissance was the preciousambergris.
This whale byproduct washes up in waxy chunks on the shores of the ocean.
“Portrait of a Woman of the Slosgin Family of Cologne,” Barthel Bruyn the Younger, 1557. The sitter poses with a pomander. (Photo:The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Public Domain)
Lavender, rose, and orange could also fill these delicate containers.
He drew designs for stills.
Enfleurage was a technique to collect scents using animal fat.
Photo: Ceridwen viaWikimedia Commons(CC BY-SA 3.0)
He also owned equipment to extract perfumes.
Being naturally curious and experimental, he must have started producing his own scents.
While the exhibition has ended, it’s a fascinating reminder of da Vinci’s multi-faceted genius.
Leonardo da Vinci’s room at Château du Clos Lucé (Photo: Léonard de Serre viaWikimedia Commons,CC BY-SA 3.0)
Leonardo da Vinci was a master painter, inventor, and all-around Renaissance man.
Although it is one of his lesser-known talents, he also was knowledgeable about perfume.
An example of a 17th-century Italian pomander.
The sitter poses with a pomander.
