Online Talk: Authentic Scents of the 18th Century

Modemuseum Hasselt – Fashion Museum Hasselt is organizing the free online talk: Authentic Scents of the 18th Century.

Historian and researcher Pauline Devriese and Olfactory artist Peter De Cupere explore the perfumes and scents of the 18th and 19th centuries and reflect on their recreation for the fashion exhibition Rococo Reboot! Fashion 1750 - 1830.

Their presentation explores the practical relationship between scent and dress in the early modern period, as revealed through scenting recipes in household manuals. It outlines the process of recreating historical scents for a public museum setting and demonstrates how this research sheds light on the everyday interactions with clothing among the lower classes.

Peter De Cupere

is a Belgian olfactory artist renowned for pioneering the integration of scent as a primary medium in contemporary visual art, creating immersive installations, performances, and sculptures that explore themes such as nature, memory, climate change, and human sensory perception. Since the late 1990s, he has produced over 1,000 olfactory artworks, earning international acclaim for works that challenge traditional visual dominance by evoking emotional and associative responses through smell. Based in Hasselt, Belgium, De Cupere combines artistic practice with academic research, holding a PhD focused on the historical and conceptual uses of scents in art. His research at the PXL-MAD School of Arts and the University of Hasselt combines the use of scents in 3D-printing with polymers and as concept and context carrier in the artistic art practice.

Pauline Devriese

Historian, researcher and collection curator at Fashion Museum Hasselt.

With Q&A.

The talk will be in English.