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The Greatest Art Event of its Time: Le Salon de 1874
Modern art conjures up images of contemporary works that break through the conventions of well-established forms of expression. Camille-Léopold Cabaillot-Lassale’s Le Salon de 1874 , to be sold in the January 19th Century European Art sale, offers a fascinating insight into the world of the modern art of the latter half of the 19th century and its audience.

The Salon, the official art exhibition of the Académie des Beaux Arts in Paris, was generally considered the most important annual exhibition in the world. Next to being a showcase for established artists, the exhibition gave up-and-coming artists the chance to present their work to discerning viewers.

See and Be Seen
The Salon was a glamorous and highly social event and as a subject matter it had a strong appeal to Belle Époque sensibilities. The Belle Époque was a period in European social history considered to be a golden age for the bourgeoisie and upper classes; a time of relative peace and stability amongst the European powers and of many advances in terms of industry and technology which furthered improved their lives. Cabaillot-Lassale succeeded in depicting this world with a vibrant use of colour, exquisite attention to detail and compositional balance. The painting’s atmosphere is a celebration of the elegant and elaborate fashions of the day.

Pioneers of the Age
In the background of the painting, the Salon wall is hung with works especially executed for this exhibition by some of the leading Barbizon artists of the day, which have all been identified. The Barbizon School was the very modern movement of its day and was widely appreciated. It was named after a small village in the forest of Fontainebleau where an artists’ colony had formed. Due to technical developments the painstaking process of mixing pigments in the studio was replaced by tubes of paint which for the first time allowed artists to paint outdoors (en plein air), enabling them to paint freely and spontaneously as never before. Inspired by works of artists such as John Constable they made nature their focus rather than the backdrop of their paintings. Both in its observation and idealisation, Cabaillot-Lassale’s Le Salon de 1874 serves as a vital historical document and a beguiling artistic creation.