The Academie was the upholder of traditional standards in French painting at the time. The Salon was established as the sole acceptable market place for the work of the Academy-trained artists…therefore, the Academie and the Salon had great power and monopolized the artist’s world, determining the teaching, the subject matter, the techniques used, the paints, even the method of “retailing” the artwork…ugh!!!!!!!!! Thank God for the painters of the Impressionistic period who struck out on their own, making their own rules and paving the way for the artists to come…I am reminded of the quote…”Freedom is a bigger game than power…Power is about what you can control…Freedom is about what you can unleash”…Harriet Rubin
In 1863 a Salon des Refuses, was organized since so many of the works that year had been refused by the establishment Salon. Of course, this resulted in much hostility from the public toward the artists and their work. However, the Salon des Refuses did eventually open the door for other salons to take place such as those of the Impressionists from 1874 and the Independents in 1884. These salons were well attended, strangely enough, although the young artists often received much ridicule from the public…eventually though, art which was not favored by the Academie was more accepted by the public.
