Salon d'Automne's History
The annual exhibition of Le Salon d'Automne was founded in Paris in 1903, as a progressive alternative to the official Salon and other exhibiting venues, including the Salon des Indépendants. Held in the autumn, it was designed not to clash with the other shows, which took place mainly in spring and summer.
Initially, it was created in the basement of the Petit Palais, where, in reaction to the academism in place at the time, several friends gathered around the architect Frantz Jourdain, including Guimard, Carrière, Desvallières, Bonnard, Rouault, Vallotton, Vuillard, Matisse, and many others.
They decided to organize an independent exhibition to promote the avant-garde and the innovative ideas of their time. Championing the concept of multi-disciplinary and equality in the arts, Le Salon d'Automne was born. Following the success of the first exhibition, this young salon has since been hosted in the glass and metal structure of the Grand Palais.
The early Salons d'Automne played an important role in establishing the reputations of Cézanne and Gauguin. A small Gauguin exhibition in 1903 (the inaugural show) was followed by a major retrospective in 1906. Cézanne was strongly represented in 1905 and was given a memorial exhibition in 1907. However, the Salon d'Automne is famous above all for the sensational launch of Fauvism at the 1905 exhibition.
As the years passed, the Salon d’Automne precipitated the emergence of all the major artistic trends of the 20th century: Surrealism, Cubism, Abstraction, New Figuration, and Singular Art. It includes all the greatest names in modern painting, from Cézanne to Picasso, the Paris School, Dali, Zao Wou Ki and Antonio Manfredi (2014) or Moebius (2015).
This year, for its 120th anniversary, Le Salon d'Automne takes place from 18 to 21 January 2024 at the Grande Halle de la Villette in Paris, and the National Academy of Arts of Ukraine has been invited for the first time to participate with the project Light Will Win.
Among Ukrainian artists taking part in the Salon within the project: Serhiy Mykhalchuk, Dmytro Kozatskyi, Kateryna Lisova, Anastasiia Podervianska, Mykhailo Rai, Victor Sydorenko, Anatoliy Melnyk, Pavlo Makov, Yuriy Vakulenko, Oleksandr Dubovik, Anatoliy Kryvolap, Tiberiy Szilvashi, Liubomir Medvid, Oleg Tistol, Andriy Bokotey, Maryna Skugareva, and Sergei Sviatchenko.
We are happy to invite you to Le Salon d'Automne from 18 to 21 January 2024 at the Grande Halle de la Villette in Paris!
The conditions for attending the event are available on the official webpage of the Le Salon d'Automne.