Salon des Refusés
| The Luncheon on the Grass | |
|---|---|
| French: Le déjeuner sur l'herbe | |
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| Artist | Édouard Manet |
| Year | 1862–1863 |
| Medium | Oil on canvas |
| Dimensions | 208 cm × 265.5 cm (81.9 in × 104.5 in) |
| Location | Musée d'Orsay, Paris |
| Symphony in White, No. 1: The White Girl | |
|---|---|
_1862.jpg) |
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| Artist | James McNeill Whistler |
| Year | 1861–62 |
| Medium | Oil on canvas |
| Dimensions | 215 cm × 108 cm (84.5 in × 42.5 in) |
| Location | National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. |
The Salon des Refusés, French for "exhibition of rejects" (French pronunciation: [salɔ̃ de ʁəfyze]), is generally an exhibition of works rejected by the jury of the official Paris Salon, but the term is most famously used to refer to the Salon des Refusés of 1863.
Today by extension, salon des refusés refers to any exhibition of works rejected from a juried art show.
The Paris Salon, sponsored by the French government and the Academy of Fine Arts, took place annually, and was a showcase of the best academic art. A medal from the Salon was assurance of a successful artistic career; winners were given official commissions by the French government, and were sought after for portraits and private commissions. Since the 18th century, the paintings were classified by genre, following a specific hierarchy; history paintings were ranked first, followed by the portrait, the landscape, the "genre scene", and the still life. The jury, headed by the Comte de Nieuwerkerke, the head of the Academy of Fine Arts, was very conservative; near-photographic but idealized realism was expected.
Much intrigue often went on to get acceptance, and to be given a good place in the galleries. In 1851, Gustave Courbet managed to get one painting into the Salon, Enterrement á Ornans and in 1852 his Baigneuses was accepted, scandalizing critics and the public, who expected romanticized nudes in classical settings, but in 1855 the Salon refused all of Courbet's paintings. As early as the 1830s, Paris art galleries mounted small-scale, private exhibitions of works rejected by the Salon jurors. Courbet was obliged to organize his own exhibit, called Le Realism, at a private gallery. Private exhibits attracted far less attention from the press and patrons, and limited the access of the artists to a small public.
In 1863 the Salon jury refused two thirds of the paintings presented, including the works of Courbet, Édouard Manet, Camille Pissarro and Johan Jongkind. The rejected artists and their friends protested, and the protests reached Emperor Napoleon III. The Emperor's tastes in art were traditional; he commissioned and bought works by artists such as Alexandre Cabanel and Franz Xaver Winterhalter, but he was also sensitive to public opinion. His office issued a statement: "Numerous complaints have come to the Emperor on the subject of the works of art which were refused by the jury of the Exposition. His Majesty, wishing to let the public judge the legitimacy of these complaints, has decided that the works of art which were refused should be displayed in another part of the Palace of Industry."
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