Portraits of historical figures of perfume

A Babylonian chemist mentioned on a cuneiform tablet, Tapputi is the first perfumer identified by name in History. Her title of “palace steward” indicates that she worked for the royal court. The tablet describes aromatic oils obtained by maceration, heating and repeated filtering — not by distillation, as is sometimes claimed.

A Persian physician, philosopher, physicist and mathematician, Avicenna is one of the most influential figures in the whole history of science. His Canon of Medicine remained a reference textbook in European universities until the 17th century. His work on steam distillation remained famous, even though distilled rose water was known before him.

A Florentine perfumer in Catherine de' Medici's retinue, René Bianco (known as René le Florentin) kept a shop in Paris, on the Pont au Change. He embodies the influence of Renaissance Italian perfumery at the French court; his legend, blackened by literature (he was said to be a poisoner), goes far beyond what is known of him.

A perfumer of Italian origin (born at Santa Maria Maggiore in northern Italy), Farina settled in Cologne in 1709 and created his Eau de Cologne there. His company, still active, presents itself as the oldest perfume factory in the world. Much imitated, Farina's water has been the subject of numerous counterfeiting lawsuits.

Grandson of the founder of the house of Guerlain, Jacques Guerlain is one of the greatest perfumers of the 20th century. Creator of L'Heure Bleue, Mitsouko and Shalimar, he lastingly marked the chypre and oriental families. His mastery of synthetic molecules and his keen sense of history and poetry made him an artist as much as a technician.

A perfumer of Russian origin trained in Moscow before fleeing the Bolshevik revolution, Ernest Beaux came to France and created for Coco Chanel a series of numbered samples. It was number 5 that was chosen — a revolutionary composition in which aldehydes, synthetic materials, play a role of unprecedented scale (Chanel does not publish the formula). Beaux is the author of one of the best-selling and most influential perfumes in all of history.