salon

artistic and literary gathering

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July 13, 2026

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A salon is a gathering of people, typically influential figures like artists, writers, or statesmen, held in a prominent person's home. These gatherings, originating in France, served as fashionable assemblages where intellectual and artistic ideas were exchanged.12

Historically, the term "salon" also refers to official art exhibitions. The first official Salon was sponsored by Louis XIV in 1667, showcasing works by members of the Académie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture. Later, the Salon d'Automne, established in 1903, offered an alternative venue for artists, becoming a significant force in modern art. Salons can also refer to art exhibition halls or stylish businesses like beauty salons.3415

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Pierre Marivaux
…1710 he had joined Parisian salon society, whose atmosphere and conversational manners he absorbed for his occasional journalistic writings. He contributed Réflexions…on the various social classes to the Nouveau Mercure (1717–19) and modeled his own periodical, Le Spectateur Français (1720–24), after Joseph Addison’s The Spectator.
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…1710 he had joined Parisian salon society, whose atmosphere and conversational manners he absorbed for his occasional journalistic writings. He contributed Réflexions…on the various social classes to the Nouveau Mercure (1717–19) and modeled his own periodical, Le Spectateur Français (1720–24), after Joseph Addison’s The Spectator.
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Charles Augustin Sainte-Beuve
The Causeries du lundi period of Charles Augustin Sainte-Beuve
He frequented the salon of Napoleon III’s cousin, the princess Mathilde, somewhat of a literary centre itself, though less formal in style than had been the salon of Mme Récamier until 1848.
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He frequented the salon of Napoleon III’s cousin, the princess Mathilde, somewhat of a literary centre itself, though less formal in style than had been the salon of Mme Récamier until 1848.
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Gertrude Stein
…whose Paris home was a salon for the leading artists and writers of the period between World Wars I and II.
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…whose Paris home was a salon for the leading artists and writers of the period between World Wars I and II.
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