Salon des Refusés - How an Exhibition of Rejected Art Changed the History of Modern Art

Since the second half of the 18th century, the Paris Salon was the most important survey of French art production financed by the French government and the Academy of Fine Arts.

This prestigious annual event allowed lesser-known artists to build their careers. The winners received official commissions from the state, the aristocracy, and the bourgeoisie. However, some artists increasingly rejected the imposed hierarchy of genres and overt conservatism, culminating in many works being rejected from the Paris Salon exhibition in 1863.

Then the unspeakable happened. The backlash led to the Salon des Refusés, an exhibition of the rejected, which marked a turning point in the art world.

The Origin of The Salon des Refusés

Among the rejected works were those made by Camille Pissarro, Antoine Chintreuil, Johan Jonking, and many others. The artist and their supporters organized a protest. The mail claim was that the Salon jury was a highly politicized and elitist electoral body. Nevertheless, this exclusion would put the artists in a rather bad position, even causing the patrons not to buy their works and demand refunds in case the purchased works have been rejected.

Emperor Napoleon III was aware of the rage of the artists. Although he had a traditional taste, the sovereign was sensitive to public opinion. Therefore, his office issued a statement claiming that “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.’’

Since the 1830s, Parisian art galleries exhibited small-scale, private exhibitions of works made by the artists rejected by the Salon. For instance, Gustave Courbet organized his solo exhibition, called The Pavilion of Realism, at a private gallery. Unlike the glorious Paris Salon, many people did not attend private exhibits, and the press barely did the coverage.

The Salon des Refusés was opened in 1863 at The Palais de l’Industrie with 2,217 works that the Salon rejected. It evoked a great interest and had over a thousand visitors per day. Both the public and the critics went to see the exhibition and some made fun of it. However, others favoured The Salon des Refusés for pushing forward the emerging avant-garde, including Impressionism. 

The Two Highlights

The two most debated paintings exhibited at The 1863 Salon des Refusés were The Luncheon on the Grass by Edouard Manet and Symphony in White, No.1: The White Girl by James Abbott McNeill Whistler. In fact, Manet showed this memorable masterpiece alongside two other works, Young Man in the Costume of a Majo (1863) and Mademoiselle V. . . in the Costume of an Espada (1862).

The Luncheon on the Grass sparked controversy for featuring a female nude accompanied by three fully dressed men on a picnic and a bather, shown in the back. The painting was perceived as promoting sex work, the blooming activity in the large Parisian park, Bois de Boulogne. It captured the very essence of modernity in the changing urban landscape of the thriving art capital.

Referring to the judgment of the public, the leading literary figure of the time, Emil Zola, wrote: “They see in it only some people who are having a picnic, finishing bathing, and they believed that the artist had placed an obscene intent in the disposition of the subject, while the artist had simply sought to obtain vibrant oppositions and a straightforward audience.”

In 1861, James Abbott McNeill Whistler painted Symphony in White, No.1: The White Girl, after returning to Paris. The artist created this mesmerizing and almost haunting portrait of his lover and business manager, Joanna Hiffernan, as a study in white. Nevertheless, the painting was interpreted as an actual allegory of a bride’s lost innocence.

Initially, Whistler wanted to exhibit The White Girl at the prestigious annual exhibition of the Royal Academy, but the jury refused the portrait. Therefore, the artist decided to submit the painting to the Paris Salon but got rejected as well.

This iconic work, seen by many as a Pre-Raphaelite painting, was finally showcased in the Salon des Refusés. Those who defended Whistler’s work claimed it was “an apparition with a spiritual content” . An example of the artist’s thesis that an artwork showcases the constellations of colours in harmony, not a literal depiction of the natural world.

The Legacy of The Salon des Refusés

Salon des Refusés was a groundbreaking event that supported artistic experimentation. It showcased artists’ experiments created against the conservative jury’s taste. In addition it set a new trajectory of thinking about and presenting art in the public sphere.

Salon des Refusés paved the way for young artists who felt freed from the monopoly of the Paris Salons. So it led to the blooming of independent, jury-free exhibitions, including those organized by Impressionists.  

In contemporary terms, Salon des Refusés would refer to any form of artmaking that defies conventions. Although much has changed in the art world since the 19th century, the norms according to which artists are selected for exhibits are still defined by curators and juries.