French art salons and academies

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

From the seventeenth century to the early part of the twentieth century, artistic production in France was controlled by artistic academies which organized official exhibitions called salons. In France, academies are institutions and learned societies which monitor, foster, critique and protect French cultural production.

Academies were more institutional and more concerned with criticism and analysis than those literary gatherings today called

Marguerite de Valois
were close to the academic spirit.

History

Academies first began to appear in France in the Renaissance. In 1570 Jean-Antoine de Baïf created one devoted to music and poetry, the Académie de Poésie et de Musique, inspired by Italian models (such as the academy around Marsilio Ficino).

The first half of the seventeenth century saw a phenomenal growth in private learned academies, organized around a half-dozen or a dozen individuals meeting regularly.[1] By the middle of the century, the number of private academies decreased as academies gradually came under government control, sponsorships and patronage.

The first private academy to become "official" and to this day the most prestigious of governmental academies is the

Académie Royale d'Architecture ("Royal Academy of Architecture") founded by Jean-Baptiste Colbert in 1671.[1][2]

In 1793 during the French Revolution the academies were suppressed, but in 1795 the Institut national des sciences et des arts (now the Institut de France) was established and consisted of three Classes: Sciences Physiques et Mathématiques ("Physical and Mathematical Sciences"); Sciences Morales et Politiques ("Moral and Political Sciences"); and Littérature et Beaux-Arts ("Literature and Fine Arts"). In 1803 under Napoleon the name was changed to Institut National de France, and it was reorganized into four Classes: 1. Sciences Physiques et Mathématiques; 2. La Langue et Littérature Françaises ("French Literature and Language"); 3. Histoire et Littérature Anciennes ("History and Ancient Literature"); and 4. Beaux-Arts ("Fine Arts"). The Institut was renamed the Institut de France in 1806 and Institut Impérial de France in 1811.[3]

The Institut was renamed again in 1814 under the Bourbon Restoration to Institut Royal de France, and in 1816, the older appellation of "Académie" was revived, when it was reorganized into four sections: the Académie Française; the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres; the Académie des Sciences; and the Académie des Beaux-Arts.[3] The last consisted of three subordinate academies, those of painting and sculpture, music, and architecture. In 1833 the earlier class, Sciences Morales et Politiques, which had been suppressed in 1803 under Napoleon, was revived as a fifth academy, the Académie des Sciences Morales et Politiques.

French Academy in Rome

The Académie de peinture et sculpture is responsible for the

Villa Médicis in Rome
(founded in 1666) which allows promising artists to study in Rome.

Salons as exhibitions

From the 17th to the 20th century, the Académie de peinture et sculpture organized official art exhibitions called

Salon de Paris) in the Salon Carré of the Louvre, but there were also salons in the cities of Bordeaux, Lille and Toulouse
.

In 1881, the government withdrew official sponsorship from the annual Salon, and a group of artists organized the

Société des artistes français
to take responsibility for the show.

In the 19th century, the salon system frequently incited criticism from artists for the bland or academic quality of the artwork, while radical artists (like Édouard Manet or Gustave Courbet) would not be received or would be greatly censored by the "respectable" public. The salon system thus forced radical and modern artists to seek alternative or unofficial exhibition sites. This is especially true for Impressionists and Fauvism.

See also:

Other major art exhibitions in France

France has been the host of a number on important international fairs and exhibitions:

Paris was also the site of two world exhibitions of decorative arts:

Today, France is host to one of Europe's most prestigious international contemporary art fairs, the FIAC ("Foire internationale d'art contemporain"), and to Paris Photo (an international photography exhibition). Other art fairs and salons include:

References

Notes
  1. ^ a b Viala, 1985. Viala's first chapter is entirely devoted to these academies. By his count, 70 were created during the 17th century.
  2. ^ Howard Mayer Brown and Iain Fenlon, "Academy" in Sadie 2001.
  3. ^ a b Lane 1989 and South Kensington Museum 1891, p. 453.
Sources
  • Lane, Harlan (1984). When the Mind Hears: A History of the Deaf. New York: Random House. .
  • South Kensington Museum (1891). Catalog of the Science Library in the South Kensington Museum. London: Eyre and Spottiswoode. View at Google Books.
  • .
  • Sadie, Stanley, editor; John Tyrell; executive editor (2001). (eBook).
  • .

External links