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For other uses, see Salon (disambiguation).
"A Salon of Ladies" by Abraham Bosse
"A Salon of Ladies" by Abraham Bosse

A salon is a gathering of men and women to participate in formal and informal discussion centered around a specific topic. Abraham Bosse (c 1602-1604 &ndash February 14 1676) was a French artist mainly as a Printmaker in Etching, but also in A salonnière, the woman who ran the salon, decided upon its central preoccupation which may include politics, literature, art, fashion or business. This type of gathering was held in the drawing room (salon in French) of the salonnière's home. [1] The participants sought to increase their knowledge through conversation and readings, often consciously following Horace's definition of the aims of poetry, "to please and educate" (aut delectare aut prodesse est). Quintus Horatius Flaccus, ( Venosa, December 8, 65 BC - Rome, November 27, 8 BC known in the English-speaking world as Horace The term salon is commonly associated with French literary and philosophical gatherings of the 17th century and 18th century, though the practice continues today in many cities around the world. This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics.

Contents

Overview

The word salon first appeared in France in 1664 (from the Italian word sala, used to designate the large reception hall of Italian mansions). Literary gatherings before this were often referred to by using the name of the room in which they occurred, like cabinet, réduit, ruelle and alcôve 1. A salon is a gathering of stimulating people of quality under the roof of an inspiring hostess or host partly to amuse one another and partly to refine their taste and increase their knowledge through Before the end of the 17th century, these gatherings were frequently held in the bedroom (treated as a more private form of drawing room): a lady, reclining on her bed, would receive close friends who would sit on chairs or stools drawn around. This practice may be contrasted with the greater formalities of Louis XIV's petit levée, where all stood. Early years Birth and ancestry Louis XIV was born in the Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye on September 5 1638 and bore the Heir apparent Dike (constructionEmbankmentA levee, levée, dike (or dyke) embankment, floodbank or stopbank is a natural or artificial The expression ruelle, literally meaning "little street", designates the space between a bed and the wall in a bedroom, and more generally the entire bedroom; it was used commonly to designate the gatherings of the "précieuses", the intellectual and literary circles that formed around women in the first half of the 17th century. The literary style called préciosité ("preciousness" arose from the lively conversations and playful word games of les précieuses, the witty and educated The salon originated in France at the end of the 16th century. The French salon was the creation of Madame de Rambouillet in her attempts to escape the vulgarities of court life. Catherine de Vivonne marquise de Rambouillet (1588&ndash December 2, 1665) better known simply as Madame de Rambouillet, was a society hostess and [2] She established the rules of etiquette of the salon which resembled the earlier codes of Italian chivalry. The salon evolved into a well regulated practice that focused on and reflected enlightened public opinion by encouraging the exchange of news and ideas. By the mid-eighteenth century the salon had become an institution in French society and functioned as a major channel of communication among intellectuals. [3]


Nobles' courts have always drawn to themselves poets, writers and artists, usually with the lure of patronage, an aspect that sets the court apart from the salon. Patronage is the support encouragement privilege and often financial aid given by a person or an organization Another feature that distinguished the salon from the court was its absence of social hierarchies and its mixing of different social ranks and orders. [4] In the 17th and 18th centuries, "salon[s] encouraged socializing between the sexes [and] brought nobles and bourgeois together"[5]. Salons helped facilitate the breaking down of social barriers which made the development of the enlightenment salon possible. In the 18th century, under the guidance of Madame Geoffrin, Mlle de Lespinasse, and Madame Necker, the salon was transformed into an institution of Enlightenment. Marie Thérèse Rodet Geoffrin ( June 26, 1699 - October 6, 1777) was a French hostess who played a part in French literary and Suzanne Curchod (1737&ndash 6 May 1794) was the wife of Jacques Necker. The Age of Enlightenment or The Enlightenment is a term used to describe a phase in Western philosophy and cultural life centered upon the eighteenth century [6] The enlightenment salon brought together Parisian society, the progressive philosophes who were producing the Encyclopédie , the Bluestolkings and other intellectuals to engage in the project of enlightenment. The philosophes ( French for Philosophers ' were a group of intellectuals of the 18th century Enlightenment. Encyclopédie ou dictionnaire raisonné des sciences des arts et des métiers (Encyclopedia or a systematic dictionary of the sciences arts and crafts was a general


The Role Of Women

At a time when society was defined and regulated by men, women could exert a powerful influence as salonnieres. Women had a very important role in the Salon and were the center of salon life. They were responsible for selecting their guests and deciding whether the salon would be primarily social, literary, or political. They also assumed the role as mediator by directing the discussion. The salon was really an informal university for women. Through the salon women were able to exchange ideas, receive and give criticism, read their own works and hear the works and ideas of other intellectuals. Many ambitious women used the salon to pursue a form of higher education. [7]


Salonnières and their salons

The most famous of the literary salons of Paris formed in the 1620s were the Hôtel de Rambouillet by Madame de Rambouillet and the rival salon that gathered around Madeleine de Scudéry. Paris (ˈpærɨs in English; in French) is the Capital of France and the country's largest city The Hôtel de Rambouillet was the Paris residence of Madame de Rambouillet, who ran a renowned literary salon there from about 1607 until her Catherine de Vivonne marquise de Rambouillet (1588&ndash December 2, 1665) better known simply as Madame de Rambouillet, was a society hostess and Madeleine de Scudéry (15 November 1607 - 2 June 1701 often known simply as Mademoiselle de Scudéry was a French Writer. Here gathered the original "blue-stockings" (les bas-bleues), whose nickname continued to mean "intellectual woman" for the next 300 years.

A reading of Molière, Jean François de Troy, about 1728
A reading of Molière, Jean François de Troy, about 1728

Paris salons of the 18th century:

Some 19th century salons were more inclusive, verging on the raffish, and centered around painters and "literary lions" such as Madame Récamier. Jeanne-Françoise Julie Adélaïde Bernard Récamier ( December 4, 1777 - May 11, 1849) was a Frenchwoman who was a leader of After the shocks of 1870, French aristocrats tended to withdraw from the public eye. Marcel Proust called up his own turn-of-the-century experience to recreate the rival salons of the fictional Duchesse de Guermantes and Madame Verdurin. Valentin Louis Georges Eugène Marcel Proust (maʁsɛl pʁust (10 July 1871 &ndash 18 November 1922 was a French Novelist Essayist and Critic Some late 19th and early 20th-Century Paris salons were major centres of music, including those of Winnaretta Singer (the Princesse de Polignac) and Comtesse Greffulhe. Winnaretta Singer Princess Edmond de Polignac ( 8 January 1865 - 26 November 1943) was an important musical Patron and heir to the


Salons outside of France

The salon was a French invention which flourished through out the 17th and 18th century. Salon sociability quickly spread though out Europe. In the 18th and 19th centuries many large cities in Europe had salons modeled after the parisian salon, although these salons were not as prominent as the salons in France.

In England, salons were held by Lady Elizabeth Montagu and Hester Thrale in the 18th century; in Germany, the most famous salons were held by Jewish ladies, such as Henriette Herz and Rahel Varnhagen; in Spain, by María del Pilar Teresa Cayetana de Silva y Álvarez de Toledo, 13th Duchess of Alba in the end of the 18th century; and in Greece by Alexandra Mavrokordatou in the 17th century. Hester Lynch Thrale (born Hester Lynch Salusbury and after her second marriage Hester Lynch Piozzi) ( 16 January 1741[NS] 2 May Henriette Herz ( September 5, 1764 - October 22, 1847) was a close friend of Dorothea Mendelssohn, daughter of the famous Jewish thinker Rahel Varnhagen (ˈʁaːɛl ˈfaʁnhaːgən née Levin ( June 19, 1771 - March 7, 1833) was a German-Jewish writer who hosted one María del Pilar Teresa Cayetana de Silva Alvarez de Toledo y Silva Bazán 13th Duchess of Alba ( June 10, 1762 – July 23, 1802) was a Alexandra Mavrokordatou (1605 &ndash 1684 was a famous intellectual and salon hostess

In 16th-century Italy some scintillating circles did form in the smaller courts which resembled salons, often galvanized by the presence of a beautiful and educated patroness such as Isabella d'Este or Elisabetta Gonzaga. Isabella d'Este ( 18 May 1474 &ndash 13 February 1539) was marchesa of Mantua and one of the leading women of the Italy had an early tradition of the salon; the courtisan Tullia Aragona held a salon already in the 16th century, and Giovanna Dandolo became known as a patron and gatherer of artists as wife of the doge in Venice in 1457-1462, but this did not start a tradition as the salon-instution in France, as men and women were traditionally more separated in social life in Italy; the real pioneers were instead the abdicated Queen Christina of Sweden and the French-born princess Colonna, Marie Anne Mancini, who rivaled as salon hostesses in 17th century Rome. Christina (Kristina Augusta ( – 19 April 1689 later known as Christina Alexandra and sometimes Countess Dohna, was

In Iberia or Latin America a tertulia is a social gathering with literary or artistic overtones. The Iberian Peninsula, or Iberia, is located in the extreme southwest of Europe, and includes modern day Spain, Portugal, Andorra A tertulia is a social gathering with literary or artistic overtones especially in Iberia or Latin America. The word is originally Spanish and has only moderate currency in English, in describing Latin cultural contexts. Since the twentieth century a typical tertulia has moved out from the private drawing-troom to become a regularly scheduled event in a public place such as a bar, although some tertulias are still held in more private spaces. Participants may share their recent creations (poetry, short stories, other writings, even artwork or songs). The short story is a literary genre of Fictional Prose Narrative that tends to be more concise and to the point than longer works of fiction such [8]

In Poland, the duchess Sieniawska held a salon in the end of the 17th cenury, and the salons became very popular there during the 18th century; the most famous salons were the Thursday Dinners of King Stanisław August Poniatowski in the end of 18th century, and the most notable salon-hostesses was Zofia Lubomirska and Izabela Czartoryska. The Thursday Dinners (obiady czwartkowe were meetings of artists intellectuals and statesmen held by the last King of Poland, Stanislaus Augustus Poniatowski in Stanisław II August Poniatowski (born Count Stanisław Antoni Poniatowski; January 17 1732 – February 12 1798 was the last King

In Scandinavia, the salon was introduced in Sweden by Sophia Elisabet Brenner in the end of the 17th century and Hedvig Charlotta Nordenflycht and Malla Silfverstolpe were salon hostesses in the 18th and the 19th centuries, respectively, while Christine Sophie Holstein and Charlotte Schimmelman were the most notable hostesses in Denmark in the beginning and the end of the 18th century. Sophia Elisabet Brenner, née Weber, ( 29 April, 1659 &ndash 14 September, 1730) was a Swedish Writer, Hedvig Charlotta Nordenflycht ( November 28, 1718 &ndash June 29, 1763) was a Swedish Poet, feminist and Christine Sophie Holstein ( 1672 - 1757) was a politically influential Danish salon hostess Magdalene Charlotte Hedevig Schimmelmann, née Schubart (Norway 1757-Copenhagen 1816 was a Danish noble and salonist Magdalene Charlotte was born to Lieuntenant

American "society hostesses" such as Perle Mesta have performed a function similar to the host or hostess of the European salon. Perle Skirvin Mesta ( October 12 1889 &ndash March 16 1975) was an American Socialite, political hostess and U

Other uses of the word

Main article: Paris Salon

The word salon also refers to art exhibitions. The Salon (Salon or rarely Paris Salon (French Salon de Paris) beginning in 1725 was the official Art exhibition of the Académie des Beaux-Arts The Paris Salon was originally an officially-sanctioned exhibit of recent works of painting and sculpture by members of the Académie royale de peinture et de sculpture, starting in 1673 and soon moving from the Salon Carré of the Palace of the Louvre. The Académie royale de peinture et de sculpture (Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture Paris, was founded in 1648, modelled on Italian examples such The Louvre Museum (Musée du Louvre located in Paris is the world's most visited art museum a historic monument and a national museum of France The Louvre Museum (Musée du Louvre located in Paris is the world's most visited art museum a historic monument and a national museum of France

The name salon remained, even when other quarters were found and the exhibits' irregular intervals became biennial. A jury system of selection was introduced in 1748, and the salon remained a major annual event even after the government withdrew official sponsorship in 1881.

See also

Further reading

External links

Private salons

(Biographies of French salonists from Madame de Rambouillet to Madame Recamier and descriptions of salon culture from the 17th to the 19th century. )

Art exhibitions

References

  1. ^ Wiesner-Hanks, Merry E. Early Modern Europe, 1450-1789. New York : Cambridge University Press,2006 p. 332
  2. ^ Kale,Steven. French Salons : High Society and Political Sociability from the Old Regime to the revolution of 1848. Baltimore : The Johns Hopkins University Press,2004. p. 2
  3. ^ Bodek, Evelyn Gordon. Salonièrs and the Bluestockings : Educated Obsolescence and Germinating feminism, Feminist Studies, Vol. 3 No. 3/4 ( spring-summer, 1976),pp. 186
  4. ^ Goodman,Dena. Enlightenment salons: The Convergence of Female and Philosophic Ambitions. Eighteenth-Century Studies, Vol. 22. 3, Special issue : The French Revolution in Culture. ( Spring, 1989),p 338
  5. ^ Kale,Steven. French Salons : High Society and Political Sociability from the Old Regime to the revolution of 1848. Baltimore : The Johns Hopkins University Press,2004. p. 2
  6. ^ Goodman,Dena. Enlightenment salons: The Convergence of Female and Philosophic Ambitions. Eighteenth-Century Studies, Vol. 22. 3, Special issue : The French Revolution in Culture. ( Spring, 1989),p. 331
  7. ^ Bodek, Evelyn Gordon. Salonièrs and the Bluestockings : Educated Obsolescence and Germinating feminism, Feminist Studies, Vol. 3 No. 3/4 ( spring-summer, 1976),pp. 186
  8. ^ El Madrid de 1900, espacios populares de Cultura y Ocio ("Madrid in 1900, popular spaces for culture and leisure"; Tertulia Andaluza ("Tertulia Andaluza")
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