Using all the senses.

 Writers are reminded frequently to use all the senses, so that the reader gets a rounded experience. But applying it to viewing art is a new idea, 

Last week I made my first foray into the wide world of this year - all the way to Birmingham with a friend - to a small but fascinating exhibition at the Barber Institute. It was Pre-Raphaelite paintings, for which Birmingham is well known, but this time the exhibits had been curated with attention to what the pictures might smell like. I told  you it was a new idea. On a sunny morning we explored the university campus, where the Institute is located, with special attention to coffee shops and places to eat, and then the exhibition.

Not only had an effort been made to select paintings that suggested scent - flowers and incense in particular - but three fragrance had been created to accompany the exhibition - two for The Blind Girl, by Millais - two beggar girls, sitting in a field, with a rainbow overhead - and one for A Saint of the Eastern Church, by Simeon Solomon - a young acolyte holding a flower sprig and an incense burner. The theory behind the display was the Victorian interest in scent and smell - in particular the idea that miasma or bad air was responsible for such diseases as Cholera. It was pointed out that Victorian Britain was probably a much smellier place than it is now.  

Did the idea work? Not sure. I can't say that the scents for the Millais did much for me - no real suggestion of rain washed meadows, and the second one, meant to be the smell of the girl's shawl, would have been better depicted, for me, by the odour of wet wool!   I got more from the incense of the second canvas. 

I will say it was worth the visit. I got to see two paintings by Waterhouse  - my favourite Pre Raph - that I had not seen before. The theory of the exhibition was interesting and not something I had encountered previously. It was a reminder to look at paintings in more detail - to examine the setting and potential scents of flowers and other depictions in the painting, and also a reminder that authors should use the five senses when writing.

All in all an excellent day out.