Heritage
A house, in its own words
The heritage of Vincent van Gogh fragrances intersects with one of art history's most compelling narratives. Vincent Willem van Gogh (1853-1890) created over 2,100 artworks during his decade-long career, including approximately 860 oil paintings, many of which now reside in major collections including the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam. The museum, which opened in 1973, houses the world's largest collection of his work. The concept of translating Van Gogh's visual art into fragrance emerged from this institutional preservation of his legacy. In June 2021, the Van Gogh Museum announced its entry into fragrance creation through a partnership with Floral Street, a contemporary London-based fragrance brand. This represented a careful extension of the museum's mission to make Van Gogh's work accessible to broader audiences. The collaboration launched officially in August 2021 with the fragrance Sunflower Pop, named directly after Van Gogh's famous Sunflowers series painted in 1888 in Arles, France. Michelle Feeney, founder of Floral Street, explained the approach centered on sustainability and bringing the museum's collection into fragrances in a way that honored the artwork's spirit. The partnership continued in 2022 with the introduction of home fragrance collections, expanding the sensory interpretation of Van Gogh's work beyond personal scent to living spaces. The philosophy behind Van Gogh-inspired fragrances rests on the premise that art can transcend visual experience to engage all senses. Van Gogh himself wrote extensively about color and emotion, famously stating that colors could express the basic intentions of nature in their various tints. The fragrance philosophy appears to embrace this belief, attempting to capture not merely the appearance but the emotional resonance of Van Gogh's work. For the Sunflower Pop fragrance, this meant translating the vibrant yellows and dynamic brushwork of the 1888 sunflower paintings into a bright, floral composition. The collaboration approach prioritized authenticity, working directly with the museum to ensure the interpretations felt true to the source material. Sustainability features as another philosophical dimension, with Floral Street founder Michelle Feeney emphasizing responsible creation within the partnership. The philosophy extends the accessibility of art beyond galleries, allowing people who may never visit the Van Gogh Museum to experience an interpretive dimension of the collection through scent.