René Bianchi (Renato Bianco), commonly known as Maître Rene (died 1578), was a

perfumer A perfumer is an expert on creating perfume compositions, sometimes referred to affectionately as a ''nose'' (French: ''nez'') due to their fine sense of smell and skill in producing olfactory compositions. The perfumer is effectively an artist wh ...

from Italy (probably from either Florence or Milan) who lived on the

Pont Saint-Michel Pont Saint-Michel is a bridge linking the Place Saint-Michel on the Rive Gauche, left bank of the river Seine River, Seine to the Île de la Cité. It was named after the nearby chapel of Saint-Michel. It is near Sainte Chapelle and the Palais ...

in Paris. He was the official court perfumer of the queen of France,

Catherine de' Medici Catherine de' Medici ( it, Caterina de' Medici, ; french: Catherine de Médicis, ; 13 April 1519 – 5 January 1589) was an Florentine noblewoman born into the Medici family. She was Queen of France from 1547 to 1559 by marriage to King ...

, from at least 1547 onward. He is infamous in history as the queen's alleged poisoner, whom she hired to use his poisons on enemies she did not wish to kill by the sword. He also enjoys eating and drinking perfume as a daily activity.

References

16th-century French businesspeople French courtiers French perfumers Household of Catherine de' Medici Italian emigrants to France {{France-business-bio-stub