Salon des Refusés

The Salon des Refusés, also known as the Salon of Refüsierten or as Salon of the Rejected, was a parallel exhibition on the official French art exhibition in which those paintings and sculptures were shown which had been rejected in the 1860s and 1870s by the jury of the Paris Salon. The art-historically significant exhibition is the 1863, at the initiative of Napoleon III. came about after the jury had come in for criticism because of their selection methods.

The Paris Salon

The Paris Salon was the most important French art exhibition. The jury, which decided which paintings were exhibited there was, however, the traditional taste of the art academies committed as he was, for example, taught at the École des Beaux -Arts. In the second half of the 19th century, the jury, however, was increasingly coming under criticism. Inside the jury countless intrigues played from to ensure the inclusion of certain artists, because at the Paris Salon, to get good reviews in the press and to be possibly even honored with an award, was a painter, a sure way financially successful have to. Rejected images were rarely negotiable. From the painter Jongkind is narrated that he had to pay the purchase price of a non adopted by the jury painting again. For a time, even an "R" stamped on "refuse " on the stretcher submitted and rejected for the exhibition images.

Artists such as Monet, Manet, Renoir, Sisley, Bazille, or had with their different conception of art much chance to be exhibited at the official Paris Salon. Even paintings of Courbet, who was one of that time already the recognized artists, the jury rejected regularly.

The backgrounds of the first Salon des Refusés

The jury's decisions in the spring of 1863

1863 was the number of paintings that was allowed to submit an artist of the jury for the Paris Salon, has been limited to three images. Already this decision was encountered in the French artistic circles on large criticism.

The advice of the jury, which paintings should be included in the exhibition at the Paris Salon, began on 2 April 1863. Already on April 5 spread in the Parisian artistic circles, the rumor that the jury had this time particularly picky. On April 12, the jury's decisions were announced. It turned out that the committee had three-fifths of the 5,000 paintings, which were submitted by 3,000 artists rejected.

The gallery owner Louis Martine had already made earned in previous years by the exhibition of works that differed from the traditional conception of art. Martine told the Paris press with on April 15 that he was willing to show the rejected images in its showrooms. However, its rooms were not sufficient to absorb the more than 3,000 paintings and sculptures.

The decision Napoleon III.

The exuberant criticism, in which the jury of the Paris Salon was advised due to their rigid selection, was also taken by the French Emperor note. Napoleon III. settled on April 22, show a portion of the rejected paintings. Count Nieuwerkerke, who was also Director General of Museums, Superintendent of Fine Arts and President of the Jury, then was instructed to show all rejected paintings in a separate part of the exhibition. Exhibition should the Palais de l' be industry, was also home to the Paris Salon. The Palais de l'Industrie was built for the Universal Exhibition in 1855 and was so generous a way that he was actually able to host both exhibitions.

The decision of the French emperor was at that time in the press, mainly as a wise, considered generous and liberal. From today's perspective, it can also be assessed in different ways. Napoleon III. himself felt a large part of the rejected images such as Manet's " Luncheon on the Grass " as ugly or indecent. Since some of the images deviated far from the popular taste in art, it was assumed that the audience would find little pleasure in the rejected images. The decision now issue all the images in the Salon des Refusés, could therefore be also pleased with the intention of restoring the prestige and authority of the jury of the Paris Salon.

Manet's biographer comes to a different conclusion. He sees it as a single train in a richly varied and uninterrupted game of intrigue between the Court and the opposition. The École des Beaux -Arts was until 1863 an institution of the City of Paris and behaved in the opinion of Napoleon III. too independent. The protest of the rejected painters had been for him a welcome opportunity to make this institution a state school.

Not to exhibit or exhibit?

The artists were free either withdraw their pictures until May 7, 1863, or to accept it, that they would be issued. For the rejected artists this decision was not easy to make. Who exhibited his pictures, ran the risk of incurring the wrath of the Grand Jury and thus long term compromise his artistic career. If an artist withdrew his paintings, however, he sat down to the suspicion of having no confidence in his own abilities. - Gustave Courbet welcomed the opportunity to show his paintings rejected by the jury to the public. Édouard Manet, however, was convinced that the official Paris Salon was the right place to find recognition as an artist.

The Art of Picture hanging

In addition to the intrigues that took place in the painting within the selection jury for the Paris Salon, was the Paris Salon and the reputation that in the paintings suspension relations and possibly even bribes played a role. Images could be placed at the paintings close -curtained walls so that they were considered likely by the visitors. Painter without influence found their images, however, often in a poorly accessible corner back or so far placed at the top of the walls that they were overlooked by visitors. - The jury of the Paris Salon worried now as well as the suspension of the paintings at the Salon des Refusés. This was even seen by critics critical, were close to the academic approach to art:

Wrote the English art critic Hamerton in a London magazine.

So the painting was girl in white by James McNeill Whistler, which was assessed by the jury as particularly bad, a place near the entrance to the living room, so that every visitor had to see this unusual for that time painting when entering the exhibition.

The reaction of the audience

Of today ranked as a major painter of the 19th century, artists were on the first exhibition alongside Manet, Courbet and Whistler Johan Barthold Jongkind, Camille Pissarro, Paul Cézanne, Armand Guillaumin, Felix Bracquemond and the painter Henri Fantin -Latour, Amand Gautier and Alphonse Legros represented. Of the last three painters paintings were accepted for the official exhibition. However, the catalog of the Salon of Refüsierten does not list all these painters. He had remained incomplete because he had to be put together without the help of the administration and the time for completion was not sufficient.

The exhibition of Refüsierten began on 15 May, while the official Salon was opened on May 1. From the outset, this exhibition attracted a large amount of visitors. On Sundays, there were up to four thousand visitors. For this exhibition proved to be a greater attraction than the official Salon. The press devoted the exhibited at the Salon des Refusés artists more and longer articles, so that was rampant in the press of the joke, the artists of the Parisian salons hoping next year also declined to be, so as to excite greater attention. The overwhelming number of items, however, were opposed to the art on display here, and also the audience's reaction was negative. One exhilarated about the rejected images.

Girls in White and breakfast in the countryside - the scandals of the salon

The strategy of the jury, Whistler's Girl in White hang so that it could miss any visitors, achieved the desired success. Émile Zola reported that this was most frequently ridiculed by the visitors. The picture that is now regarded as a masterpiece because of its harmony of different shades of white -excited, because of its unconventional painting and representation with the public and the critics particularly violent rejection. Whistler had on the image of his lover Jo painted, which was described by an American critic as

In a similar rejection of Manet's Luncheon on the Grass came, which was designated in the catalog as Les Bains. After it became known through the press that the Emperor Napoleon III. it had taken particular offense, the attention of all visitors was sure this picture. The representation of two unclothed women, accompanied by two clothed men was unusual, but not unknown in the history of art. Manet had inspiration for this painting by Marcantonio Raimondi Extract from " Judgment of Paris ". The rejection, which underwent the image by the critics was, therefore, both due to the sitter as to the style of painting.

Wrote the cultural critic Théophile Citizen Thoré in a report on the Salon des Refusés. Different from the conventional style of the background was indicated only sketchily; Contours were indicated only by fleeting brushstrokes form the shapes obtained by the contrast of the colors.