French art salons and academies
French art history |
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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
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
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
Salons as exhibitions
From the 17th to the 20th century, the Académie de peinture et sculpture organized official art exhibitions called
In 1881, the government withdrew official sponsorship from the annual Salon, and a group of artists organized the
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:
- Salon (gathering) - the expression "salon" is also used to refer to literary gatherings
- Academic art
- Paris Salon- Main page for the official Salon de Paris
- Salon des Refusés - started in 1863
- Salon des Indépendants-started in 1884
- Salon d'Automne - started in 1903
Other major art exhibitions in France
France has been the host of a number on important international fairs and exhibitions:
- The Exposition universelle de Paris — a kind of World's Fair — was held in Paris in 1889. It was for this fair that the Eiffel Tower was built (1887–1889).
- The Grand Palais and the Petit Palais were built as exhibition halls for the Exposition Universelle (1900).
Paris was also the site of two world exhibitions of decorative arts:
- The Exposition internationale des arts décoratifs et industriels modernes in 1925 launched the style called "Moderne", or "Streamline Moderne" or "Art Deco".
- The subsequent exhibition, the "Exposition Internationale des Arts et Techniques dans la Vie Moderne (1937)", in 1937 saw, to a certain degree, the last flowering of this style; the Palais de Tokyowas built for this exhibition.
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:
- ArtParis, held in the Carrousel du Louvre (ArtParis website)
- SAGA ("Salon des Arts Graphiques Actuels"), specialized in lithography, etching and illustration
References
- Notes
- Sources
- Lane, Harlan (1984). When the Mind Hears: A History of the Deaf. New York: Random House. ISBN 978-0-679-72023-2.
- South Kensington Museum (1891). Catalog of the Science Library in the South Kensington Museum. London: Eyre and Spottiswoode. View at Google Books.
- ISBN 978-1-56159-228-9.
- Sadie, Stanley, editor; John Tyrell; executive editor (2001). OCLC 419285866(eBook).
- ISBN 978-2-7073-1025-5.
External links
- Société des Artistes Français (official website of "Le Salon des Artistes Français" )
- Database of Salon Artists, 1827-1850 (salonartists.org).
- Timeline of the Paris salons Archived 2021-04-21 at the Wayback Machine
- Information about Fiac 2009 Archived 2016-03-27 at the Wayback Machine (in French)