Salon d'Automne
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
In 1903, the first Salon d'Automne (Autumn Salon) was organized by Georges Rouault, André Derain, Henri Matisse and Albert Marquet as a reaction to the conservative policies of the official Paris Salon. The exhibition almost immediately became the showpiece of developments and innovations in 20th century painting and sculpture.
While the Salon was dominated by the painters, Jacques Villon was one of the artists who helped organize the drawing section of the first salon and later would help the Puteaux Group gain recognition with showings at the Salon des Indépendants.
During the Salon's early years, established artists such as Pierre-Auguste Renoir threw their support behind the new exhibition and even Auguste Rodin displayed several drawings. Since its inception, the greats and future greats of the art world such as Paul Cézanne, Henri Matisse and Paul Gauguin and Pablo Picasso have been shown here.
After World War I, the Salon d'Automne was dominated by the works of the Montparnasse painters such as Marc Chagall, Amedeo Modigliani, and Georges Braque. Sculpture saw the likes of Constantin Brancusi, Aristide Maillol, Charles Despiau, and Ossip Zadkine emerge as new forces.
In addition to painting and sculpture, at the Salon could be found the creations in the decorative arts such as the glassworks of René Lalique as well as architectural designs by Le Corbusier. Still an exhibition of world importance, the Salon d'Automne is now into its second century.
During the last decades of the XXth century, the Salon d'Automne was mainly illustrated by painters like Edouard McAvoy, his chairman, Jean Monneret, and Maurice Boitel.
