Elena Mancioppi
in NODES 27 → 2026
https://doi.org/10.57633/NODES-27/3-ENG
From its very start, Futurism broke openly with the dominant artistic and aesthetic paradigm by attributing great importance to smells. The olfactory dimension played a fundamental role in a programme aimed not only at radically renewing the arts, but also at encouraging a temperamental, political, and aesthetic societal transformation. While what would later be defined as “olfactory art” underwent a multifocal and polyphonic evolution, most subsequent artistic uses of smells reveal a certain kinship with this 20th-century Italian avant-garde. After an overview of the “osmospheric turn” brought about by Futurism in various artistic registers, I will focus on Futurist cuisine. Besides highlighting the pioneering nature of various insights, the final remarks shed light on some uninterrupted links between Futurist experimentation and the current artistic and gastronomic state of affairs.
To cite this article: Mancioppi, E. (2026). The Futurist Nose. Smells, Stenches and Flavours in the Arts. Nodes (27):58-65, Numero Cromatico Editore, Roma