salon des refuss

The Salon des Refuss ('Salon of the Rejected') was an art exhibition in Paris. It first took place in 1863. It displayed art-works that had been rejected by the Acadmie des beaux-arts when submitted for display at the Paris Salon: the official exhibition of the Acadmie. In 1863 the nascent Realist and Impressionist movements submitted works to the Academy's selection committee only to be rejected. The resultant complaints of bias led the French emperor Napoleon III to allow the rejected works to be displayed in a separate exhibition. Most were undoubtedly of poor quality, leading to ridicule in the press. However, the exhibition contained several important paintings including Edouard Manet's Djeuner sur l'Herbe (the 'Picnic') and James McNeill Whistler's The White Girl. Other artists who showed at the Salon des Refuss include Henri Fantin-Latour, Paul Czanne, Armand Guillaumin, Johan Jongkind, and Camille Pissarro Later Salon des Refuss were held in 1874, 1875 and 1886. In 1881 the government withdrew official sponsorship from the annual Salon, and a group of artists organised the Socit des artistes franais to take responsibility for the show.

Salon Des Refuss

See also