Beauty
Between Feeling and Emotion, Inspired Also by Artistic Fragrances
“What kind of beauty will save the world?” Ippolit asks Prince Myshkin ironically, as the latter seems to have expressed this thought on a previous occasion. Yet in Dostoevsky’s text, no answer is given. We may suppose it was a spiritual beauty, or perhaps a more carnal one, suggested by the protagonist’s feelings for Nastasja. Thus, this beauty, evoked in the pages of the novel, remains undefined. Just as the very definition of beauty remains vague, precisely because it is so vast, subjective, and inclusive of sensations, emotions, and feelings.
A Concept in the Making
For Umberto Eco, in his History of Beauty, beauty is a concept in the making, especially when represented through art. It is certainly inherent in the pleasure of perceiving it in people, objects, and nature. But it is also said that a mathematical formula can be beautiful in its perfection and harmony, such as Euler’s formula. Beauty is likewise linked to the concept of goodness. As a conceptual elaboration, it therefore belongs to many humanistic fields: it is part of aesthetics, culture, social psychology, philosophy, and sociology.
Multisensory
Whatever definition may be given to it, beauty is nonetheless experienced through the senses, whenever a particular sensation of pleasure is felt. It is primarily perceived through sight, but in reality all the senses are involved in a succession of perceptions. Generally, one specific sense takes priority in processing this experience: as with listening to a piece of music, looking at a painting, touching a silky surface, or perceiving a pleasant scent. Yet combinations of sensations are also experienced, and together they create a state of fulfillment and satisfaction.
Smell
The sense of smell is the most archaic and immediate. It acts directly on the limbic system, generating rapid reactions while also recalling past sensory experiences. Scents in fact produce an immediate sensory response, often creating associations with other senses and sometimes involuntarily activating their perception. This is how a fragrance can evoke a color or a sound that we have preserved in our deepest memory: this is the perceptual phenomenon of synesthesia. The powerful sense of smell therefore plays a fundamental role in stimulating exciting and deeply engaging experiences.
The Beauty of Fragrance
Can the sense of smell, then, make us perceive beauty? According to Silvia Martinelli, perfumer and founder of Giardini di Toscana, certainly yes. Silvia says she draws inspiration from beauty when creating a fragrance in her laboratory in the heart of Tuscany. “I live in a place rich in beauty, both artistic and natural. A beauty that fulfills, inspires, and encourages one to recreate it through olfactory experiences.”
For Silvia, beauty arises from the harmony between nature, generous and vibrant, and the refined creativity of the artist: “I admire the beauty found in Tuscan gardens, designed with wisdom and flair, yet always in harmony with the surrounding landscape. As in gardens, where human work relates to the natural environment, so in perfumes essences and ingredients come together to give life to suggestions and echoes of vivid emotions.”
But beauty is not only a stimulus and a source of inspiration. Fragrance also enhances the beauty of the person wearing it, enlivening their personality and uniqueness. “Listening to a fragrance recalls intense and pleasant memories, states of completeness, and stimulates sensations” Silvia comments. “Many times I have seen the satisfaction of those who, wearing a perfume, felt fulfilled, more seductive, more appreciated. This too is the beauty of fragrance: it enriches our perceptions and enhances our personality”.
The question about beauty from Dostoevsky’s novel comes back to my mind, and I now ask it to Silvia. I will leave you to imagine her answer.
Feeling and feeling oneself in beauty
Do you also think that a fragrance can enhance a person’s beauty and personality? Share your experience.
