Why did the Impressionist artists organize an independent exhibition in 1874?

In the 19th century, the government-sponsored Salon was the primary venue for artists to establish their reputations and sell their work. However, the Salon’s jury consistently favored traditional academic standards, frequently rejecting the work of avant-garde artists who sought to break from these conventions.12

Because these artists were often rebuffed by the jury, they were left without a viable platform to show their work to the public, which made it difficult to secure sales and professional recognition. Consequently, a group of countercultural artists—including Claude Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Edgar Degas, Camille Pissarro, and Berthe Morisot—decided to buck the establishment. By pulling their resources together, they organized their own independent exhibition in 1874 to showcase their vision of art, which was free from the constraints of academicism.12