Salon, << suh LON, >> refers to a type of room and to certain activities that take place in the room. The word salon comes from the Old French word sale, which means great hall. Originally, a salon was a large reception room in a palace. It provided an impressive setting for entertaining guests or meeting the public. Some salons were two stories high, with an arched ceiling and several windows. Many salons had elaborate sculptured and painted decorations on the walls.
During the 1600’s and 1700’s, artists in the French Royal Academy held exhibitions of their work in the Salon Carre in the Louvre Palace in Paris. These exhibitions became known as salons. The term still means an annual exhibition of the work of living artists. Because the Louvre salon was the only public art exhibition in Paris, it established an official, approved style of art. Many artists protested the salon’s control over public taste. In 1863, the Salon des Refuses was established by artists whose work had been refused by the official salon. Many founders of modern art exhibited there.
The term salon can also mean a gathering of fashionable people. During the 1700’s, wealthy Parisians built town houses with elegantly decorated salons. The hostess usually invited writers, philosophers, politicians, and aristocrats. These French salons became famous for their brilliant conversation.
