Der Salon und die Pariser Kunstszene unter Napoleon I.

The Paris Salon was the largest and most important exhibition of contemporary art in Europe in the 19th century. It was a stage for artistic self-promotion and a place of competition, an art fair, a mass attraction, a cultural showcase, and a state propaganda tool all rolled into one; it brought together artists, critics, collectors, and dealers, gave rise to aesthetic debates, and captivated an international, socially heterogeneous audience. The salons of the Consulate and the Premier Empire (1799-1814) were used by Napoleon and his advisors as a stage and tool of political propaganda. Artists had to adapt to this profound change in the exhibition. At the same time, they had to respond to new artistic trends in order to hold their own in the Parisian art scene. The success and reach of the salons of these years can be seen not only in the increasing numbers of exhibitors and visitors. The diverse forms of their reception - in newspapers and magazines, letters, travelogues, and graphic anthologies - also attest to the radiance of the exhibition, which transcended France's borders. Drawing on a broad base of largely unpublished sources, Eva Knels examines the organization of the exhibition, the participating artists, and the international reactions to the Salon, taking into account the complex changes in the art scene at the beginning of the 19th century. In doing so, the author focuses on the interrelationships between art politics, artistic production, and their reception.