Why did Edgar Degas reject the official Salon exhibitions?

Edgar Degas’s decision to reject the official Salon exhibitions was part of a broader movement by avant-garde artists who sought to break away from the rigid, state-controlled art establishment.12

By the late 1860s, Degas and other like-minded artists—who would later be known as the Impressionists—became increasingly disillusioned with the Salon’s jury system. They recognized the unfairness of the selection process and the disadvantages their smaller, modern-themed paintings faced within the traditional exhibition halls.3

Degas, who had previously attempted to launch his career through these established channels, eventually abandoned historical and academic themes to focus on contemporary life. He aligned himself with other radical artists who shared the belief that painting should engage with the sights and subjects of the modern world rather than adhering to the conventional, idealized subjects favored by the Salon. Consequently, he chose to turn his back on the official exhibitions entirely, opting instead to participate in the independent Impressionist exhibitions held between 1874 and 1886.4135