The Courtauld invites you to join us ‘After Hours’ for a one-off sensory journey through our collection! Beyond the frame, fragrances can help us reexamine and reinterpret art, while also evoking unexpected places or moments. Smell, make, mix and learn from scents and be taken on an olfactory journey, designed to reflect the inspirations and illustrations in the artworks on our walls. This event is inspired and curated by the work of our Young People’s Programme.
Please note that entry to The Morgan Stanley Exhibition: Van Gogh. Self-Portraits is included in the ticket price.
Our After Hours series is produced as part of the Open Courtauld strand hosted by The Research Forum. This strand is all about sharing advanced research in art history, curating, and conservation, and is part of our Courtauld Connects project.
Aligning with The Courtauld’s digital events series ‘Open Courtauld Hour’ our ‘After Hours’ will broach contemporary issues in society through participatory activities that encourage new perspectives and thinking, focused on The Courtauld collection.
Line-up!
Activities
- 7.00 – 9.00: Smelling Édouard Manet’s A Bar at the Folies-Bergère, The LVMH Great Room (Third Floor)
Transport yourself into the bustling atmosphere of Édouard Manet’s A Bar at the Folies-Bergère with a selection of specially curated scents. Meet perfumer Sarah McCartney and discover how this unique response to the painting came about.
- 7.00 – 9.00: Bringing Impressionist Landscapes to life, The Courtauld Shop (Vaults)
Drop into our pop-up and drop-in workshop and bring an Impressionist landscape to life by combining and layering scents. Use your sense of smell and your imagination to enter into the worlds of some of our best loved artists.
Pop-up Talks
Journey through artworks that capture the sensations of particular places and moments in time with art historian Fran Herrick.
- 7.30 – 7.40: Claude Monet’s Antibes, The LVMH Great Room (Third Floor)
- 8.00 – 8.10: Vincent Van Gogh’s Peach Trees in Blossom, The LVMH Great Room (Third Floor)
- 8.30 – 8.40: Paul Cézanne’s Montagne Sainte-Victoire with Large Pine, The LVMH Great Room (Third Floor)
Interventions
- 7.00 – 9.00: Perfume Mistress Takeover, Ticket Hall (Ground Floor)
Smell is the most visceral and evocative of our senses, embedding the human experience in memories, emotions and reactions.This evening we are using fragrance to immerse you in the extensive Courtauld collection, breathing new life into history, art and the stories they convey.
A Perfume Programme – containing five scented perfume blotters, has been prepared for you to take a self-guided olfactory journey around the gallery. A fragrance has been selected for each floor and two of the temporary exhibitions, to represent the characteristics of each artistic era so that you may be inspired or provoked through the medium of scent!
Smell is about perception; it is also very personal. Why not consider these perfume prompts as you explore the collection using your Perfume Programme:
- As you move between the rooms and floors to engage with the paintings and objects, what thoughts do the fragrances evoke?
- How does the fragrance influence your opinion and perception of the rooms and the art on display?
- Do any of the fragrances enhance your enjoyment or experience of a room?
- Or, is there a particular piece that you feel the perfume resonates with?
- Do you think any of the fragrances work well with another era?
- What ideas or memories arise from smelling the perfumes?
Meet the artists, makers and experts!
Francesca Herrick studied for her BA and MA degrees at The Courtauld, specialising in 19th-century British and French art. She has continued to work closely with the Learning Department, introducing a variety of groups to The Collection and to Art History more broadly. Recent projects have included workshops and resources around the sensory analysis of artworks. She also teaches the history of interior design at KLC School of Design.
Sarah McCartney is creator of 4160Tuesdays’ secret formulas!
Tanya Moulding, The Perfume Mistress, (TIDHA, MIFPA) is an experienced Clinical Aromatherapist and event organiser. Her passion for plants and aromatics led to further studies in education, olfaction and natural perfumery. She now combines her love of all things sensory and smelly to curate and develop public masterclasses. Collaborating with clients across the fields of culture, arts, heritage and hospitality, Tanya delivers conceptual fragrance ideas and fun, interactive, scent events to engage, inform and inspire. She has a weakness for Jasmine, woodsmoke, cut grass, thunderstorms and the smell of the changing seasons!To find out more about her work visit her website here, Instagram or Twitter.
The Courtauld’s Young People’s Programme offers an exciting series of free workshops, courses and events for young people aged 16-18 to explore The Courtauld Gallery Collection and engage with art history and art practice.