Photo Essay

UNTRANSLATABLE

DYUTIMAN MUKHOPADHYAY PHOTOGRAPHY

The Definition:

LOVE, n.1: Brit. /lʌv/, U.S. /ləv/

In religious use:

—the benevolence and affection of God towards an individual or towards creation;

—the affectionate devotion due to God from an individual;

—regard and consideration of one human being towards another prompted by a sense of a common relationship to God.

—Oxford English Dictionary.

A photo-montage from three apparently unrelated influences—

The First:

Hans Makart's 'Death of Cleopatra' had a record sale at an auction for 757,300 Euros—a brilliantly rich painting. Following is the excerpt from the auction house Dorotheum in Vienna, one of the oldest and largest auction houses in the world:

'The painting . . . dates back to 1875, a period of great enthusiasm for all things Oriental. It depicts the dramatic moment immediately after the lethal bite of the serpent. The image derives its power from the contrast between the opulent splendour of the queen's garments and her delicate, opaque skin. "In this manner, the painter conveys an erotic-lascivious mood, further emphasised by the palpable vulnerability of the body. . .", writes Gerbert Frodl, former Director of the Belvedere.'

The Second:

A research blurb published by the University of Hawaii followed by a The Times article stating that scientists have recreated Cleopatra’s 2,000-year-old perfume. A team of archaeologists and perfume experts have concocted a scent that they say was the Chanel No 5  'of the day’, and which may have been used by the last queen of ancient Egypt.

The Third:

The character of fictitious French perfumer Jean-Baptiste Grenouille from the 2006 film directed by Tom Tykwer—'Perfume: The Story of a Murderer'.

—Artistic rendering and impression in Adobe Photoshop CC from a poster of 'Perfume: The Story of a Murderer' and a Creative Commons image of Han’s Makart’s ‘Death of Cleopatra’.

—March 12, 2021, June 26, 2023.