Today's Edition
SARA ALZAABI (ABU DHABI)
Louvre Abu Dhabi, in collaboration with Givaudan, has unveiled its “Art in Scents” experience - a guided tour that invites visitors to smell selected masterpieces at the museum.
The initiative transforms the permanent collection into a multi-sensory journey through 10 bespoke fragrances and a micro-encapsulated booklet.
Its pages release scents inspired by individual artworks, extending interpretation beyond sight to the universal language of smell.
Crafted by Givaudan master perfumers Dalia Izem and Gaël Montero, the palette draws on the historical, emotional, and spatial character of each piece.
Among them is the signature fragrance, “A Universal Breeze”, which pays tribute to the museum’s dome, desert light and maritime setting with marine, mineral, and musk accords layered with solar florals, incense and amber.
Diffused at the entrance, it sets the tone for the visit.
Speaking to Aletihad, perfumer Gaël Montero explained why scent adds a unique dimension to art: “Adding a non-factive dimension to artworks is actually something very new, and it is not necessarily something that the original artist would think about. So, it really is taking a bit of freedom from the original artwork to add another dimension, which is very powerful for people through memories. People will remember for a longer time the smell than the artwork itself.”
For Montero, each fragrance offers a layered experience.
“I think about one, the Kyphi, which is an interpretation of an old recipe of this perfume that was the first created in history. So, it depends on, at the same time, history, and at the same time, our emotion, because we will still smell it as it was the smell of today,” he said.
Kyphi, a compound incense that was used in ancient Egypt, took the perfumers into new territory.
“The aim was not to create a perfume; it was to interpret artworks. What we were expected to create is smells. So, it was another way of using the materials that we use every day, and I really learned a lot through this collaboration.”
Montero also highlighted the role of science and innovation: “Behind every perfume, there are ingredients, there is science, and particularly science of diffusion. So today, we can have a book, open it, just rub the pages, and smell the perfume we created.”
He hopes visitors will carry the memory of the artworks in new ways.
“Perfumes and smells are very linked to long-term memory. This is a very good way to keep a memory of the Louvre in another way for a longer time.”
He sees the project as an extension of Louvre Abu Dhabi’s ethos: “Part of it is about sharing culture and the dialogues between cultures. Dalia [Izem] and I come from different backgrounds, and being in dialogue with these art pieces was part of what, for me, is the DNA of the Louvre; this universality and dialogue between cultures.”
His colleague Izem echoed this sentiment.
She described scent as a powerful amplifier of creativity: “The link between art and scent, basically, is just another way of expressing yourself. The painter has used their colours or their materials to build an art piece. And we, as perfumers, have just extended this to another dimension. It is really a dialogue between that art piece and our own creativity, our own sensitivity.”
She explained that her contribution was deeply personal.
“I brought my sensibility, my history. Each one of us, as individuals, would be touched differently through our personal history, what we experience in life, our artistic sensibility. I brought my knowledge of the region, my multicultural personality and family history. And this makes my interpretation unique, because it’s me.”
For Izem, the project is also about accessibility: “I hope that this will open a different door, make it more accessible, so people will be less intimidated and open a conversation about art. This is how new ideas are born, and this is how culture is transmitted.
“I also hope it gives access to a new dimension; for kids or people who are visually impaired, maybe they can experience an art piece differently, and children can find it more playful.”
At the future of multi-sensory art, Izem believes the potential is vast: “Louvre is an amazing example of multisensory art, as we can experience the architecture, the art. Everything is stimulating our sight, our touch, even the smell now. This can be a source of inspiration for anything and extend it to a lot of other art exhibitions.
"It can even extend to fields like cooking, with chefs collaborating to interpret smells. It is literally open to anything and everything.”
