DIPTYQUE: OTHONIEL ROSA, The Destiny of a Rose

This is the kind of story that diptyque loves – a tale of connections between nature, the arts, the senses and people. A story captured in a new fragrance, othoniel rosa, with a surprising, peppery rose fragrance.

Once upon a time, there was a simple rose ... 

Since childhood, Jean-Michel Othoniel has had a passion for flowers and for their symbolic significance. Over the years and through countless encounters, he collected notes that he would express through his sculptures and publish in his book, Herbier Merveilleux (The Secret Language of Flowers) ... 

In time, this inclination would incite works in which the natural shapes of flowers were augmented with his own sensibility and vision. This study of nature gave birth to colourful watercolours – the starting point for all of this artist’s projects – as well as sculptures and paintings in ink on gold foil. 

When the Musée Delacroix mounted an exhibition dedicated to this theme – a topic dear to Othoniel’s heart – a rose breeder who admired his work offered to name a rose after him. The breeder sent Othoniel photographs of a number of newly created flowers, suggesting that he choose one. Out of them all, the artist opted for a simple rose with relatively few petals, similar in appearance to the kind of wild eglantine roses found along roadsides. The “Othoniel rose” was born and planted in the garden of the museum, and went on to become part of the botanical collection of the Louvre. 

Jean-Michel Othoniel then discovered the perfume of this rose – a potent blend of fragrances combining the sensual scent of the rose with peppery notes.

But the story had only just begun. 

In 2019, to celebrate the thirtieth anniversary of its Pyramid, the Louvre Museum invited Othoniel to create a herbarium of the museum. This gave him a chance to roam the various rooms after hours once more, as he had during night shifts as a guard at that very museum during his student days. And so Othoniel embarked on an exploration of three thousand years of art history, all with one idea in his mind: to track down the flower that was emblematic of the Louvre. 

At the bottom of a Rubens painting depicting the marriage of Marie de’ Medici and Henry IV of France, he noticed a small rose that had fallen onto the steps during the exchange of vows. To him, this rose is “the very embodiment of painting. It foreshadows today’s modern art. Blood red illuminated with white, symbolising passion and power, erudition and sensuality, this rose is the rose of mystery... This is the flower of the Louvre.” 

He set to work painting this flower. An ink and watercolour version appears in his Herbier Merveilleux du Louvre. 

It was also translated into a full six canvases in black ink on white gold foil. The “Rose of the Louvre”, six artworks on display amid the masterpieces of 17th and 18th century statuary in the open-air Cour Puget, is now part of the Museum’s permanent collections. 

The installation likewise became the expression of an olfactory landscape. One of the six paintings now decorates the Othoniel Rosa bottle – but first, back to our story.

The notion of rendering this multi-faceted flower as a fragrance never left Jean-Michel Othoniel. And indeed, the story would continue – but with a new partner. In diptyque, what appealed to Othoniel was the aesthetic and the simplicity. Over the years, Othoniel forged an almost personal relationship with the fragrances of the Maison. Strong ties already existed between Givaudan and the Maison diptyque, as Givaudan had already created the essence of 34 boulevard Saint-Germain, the place where the story of diptyque began almost 60 years ago. It was inevitable that these three protagonists, fired by the same vision, would in time join forces. In this scent of peppery rose, diptyque recognised a characteristic that was in tune with the spirit of its own fragrances – original, surprising, simple, natural and transcending gender. The Maison’s artistic soul resonated with the request to create this new fragrance: Othoniel Rosa would be more than just an emanation from a flower. It would be a bond between Jean-Michel Othoniel and the world of flowers – between the artist, the history of art and the history of mankind.

The Othoniel Rose has been augmented with pink peppercorn, ambrette seeds and also Akigalawood, a purer form of patchouli with the earthy notes pared away, to underscore the spicy note so astonishing to find in a rose. The woody note of vetiver is a fitting response to the delicacy of this flower, and liberates the fragrance from gender. Black pepper from Madagascar creates the olfactory accident that is a signature element in diptyque essences. A fragrance with a rare power – capable, without any need to modify its composition, of being translated into a scent for the home or for personal use. In short, something quite special. And to accompany the candle is the Othoniel Rosa eau de toilette. Adorned with the artist’s reinterpretation of the rose from the Rubens painting, and available as a limited edition, Othoniel Rosa evokes the story of an encounter, ephemeral yet profound, between nature and culture. 

With a pronounced taste for metamorphoses, sublimations and transmutations, Jean-Michel Othoniel (born on 27 January 1964 in Saint-Étienne, lives and works in Paris) has a predilection for materials whose properties are reversible, poetic and delicate. He started out in the early 90s, creating works made of wax or sulphur. From 1992 onwards, these were presented by Jan Hoet at the Documenta exhibition in Kassel. The following year saw a real turning point in his work with the introduction of glass. Working with the finest craftsmen in Murano, he explored the characteristics of this material, which would be his calling card from then on. The delicacy of glass, and the subtlety of its colours, reflect his overarching aim as an artist: to restore a touch of poetry and enchantment to the world. 

His current works have taken on an architectural dimension and are very much at home in gardens and historic sites, where they can be found all around the world thanks to both public and private commissions. 

In 2018, Jean-Michel Othoniel was appointed to the Académie des beaux-arts.  He is represented by Galerie Perrotin (Paris, New York, Hong Kong, Seoul, Tokyo and Shanghai) and by the Kukje Gallery (Seoul). His works appear in the world’s biggest contemporary art museums, foundations and private collections. 

Othoniel Rosa eau de toilette, 100 ml

Othoniel Rosa candle, 190 g

In the Philippines, diptyque is located at Central Square in Bonifacio High Street Central and Power Plant Mall. Visit ssilife.com.ph or follow @ssilifeph on Instagram for more information.

In response to the evolution of the retail industry, the company introduced "The Specialist", an At Home concierge service dedicated to serve its valued customers with their shopping needs. Customers may get in touch with SSI’s Customer Service team through any of the following channels to inquire about a particular brand or product:

SSI GROUP CUSTOMER SERVICE TEAM
Viber Community: bit.ly/SSILifePH
Email: customerservice@ssigroup.com.ph
Telephone Number: 8-830-5000
Mobile Number: (0917) 552 9359
Facebook: facebook.com/SSILifePH
Instagram: @ssilifeph
#TheSpecialistBySSI