Ольфакторная эстетика Михаила Кузмина

In the period of aestheticism and dandyism Kuzmin created a personal myth with the aid of the sense of smell in both his literary work and in his behaviour. Smells and aromas are varied and multifunctional; their meaning is determined by natural and cultural models and mystical, biographical and erotical contexts. In his interpretation of olfactory sensations Kuzmin is guided by existing attitudes on smell, but also creates new concepts. As artistic elements smells have the function of cultural signs. In olfactory poetics we can find significant information, connected with corporality, intuition, memory and imagination. Kuzmin's olfactory preferences are determined by the perfume fashion of his time. The smells embody the author's wish to be “Another”, to change masks and to play.