Musical accompaniment: Si Tu N’Etais Pas Là performed by Fréhel.
This beautiful picture was made in the early 1900s by photographer Frank Eugene. He called it Four Sisters.
Archive.org
The girls remind me a bit of the Romanovs.
The Romanovs (Tsar, Tsarevich, and Grand Duchesses) with Cossack soldiers in late 1916
Everything about these photographs seems so ethereal and otherworldly.
Do you ever hear a sound that triggers another sense? Whenever I hear this song, I smell a particular perfume (Nanette Lepore). I have no idea what caused this association, but it’s not that unusual. There’s a term for it: synesthesia. It isn’t always sound and scent. It could be taste and color,, or touch and sound, or any combination of senses.
old spirituals 
“Four Sisters” inspires awe in me. And the photo of the Romanovs fills me with indignation knowing what happened to those in the photograph at the hands of barbarians.
My analysis of why the song triggers the scent of Nanette Lapore is best explained by Ivan Pavlov’s theory of conditioned reflex.
LikeLiked by 2 people
The Romanovs had a terrible and unfair end.
LikeLiked by 1 person
The name Pavlov rings a bell…! 😉 the Romanovs were such beautiful people of the time. I can’t imagine anyone like them existing today.
LikeLike
Ivan Pavlov experimented using the ring of a bell before feeding a dog to condition it to expect food each time he rang the bell. It reach a point that the dog would salivate when it heard the bell. Stimulus and response theory.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Such lovely photographs!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Beautiful!! I’ve never heard of synesthesia but I’m curious what Nannette Lepore smells like now!
LikeLiked by 1 person
According to Google: Top notes are White Peach, Rose and Cranberry; middle notes are Black Currant, Jasmine, Orange and Lime; base notes are Violet, Sandalwood and Amber.
This wouldn’t be helpful to me but maybe it is to you!
LikeLike
Pingback: A Prequel: Ritual Vestalis | old spirituals