The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1897-05-22
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PERIiNDER IN PARIS.
The Decadence of French Art-Two Salons
Compared.

If a New Havener will turn his back
on New Haven Just when nature is be-
ginning to deck her with spring bios
SONS, and just when Prospect Hill is
beginning to glow in the penumbra of
a prospective plenitude of the seasons
profitable pleasures, and if he will offer
as paltry excuse the necessity of put
ting himself once more en- rapport with
French art of the day. the least he can
do, when he has been long enough in
Paris to look the art of the day square
~ in the face is to write something
about it to appease those who ques-
toned his motives and resented his de-
parture.
The French call an exhibition Of art
Salon." Salon" means parlor. Why
the French should call an exhibition of
Works of art a parlor, and why a bed
room, a hall-closet or back kitchen, is
a quaere which naturally suggests itself
to the rational and inquiring New Ha-
vener, Know Oh, r. and /. New Haven
er! that the first show of the kind took
place hundreds of years ago in the
kings best parlor, and continued to be
held there until the queen got tired of
| having her best three-ply trampled by
| Tom, Dick and Harry, and by Mes
danes Thomas, Richard and Henry,
| But when the show was fired out of the
| palace the king in his gracious benigni-
| ty, and partially, too, in view of keep
| ing his head on his shoulders as long as
| possible, allowed the show people to re-
| tain the name Salon." so that those
| who paid their franc apiece to see the
| show might still imagine very family
| to be sure, that they were the guests of
| royalty. To carry out the illusion still
| further, the king pocketed all the franc
pieces
| The Salon tlourished till few years
/ ago, when row broke out. Prizes are
given at the Salon; first, second and
| third class medals, and an honora BILE
| mention. In addition there are special
| prizes of cash for travelling and other
purposes; and there is one grand medal
Of honor in each department of art.
| Now 1t happened that some of the very
big artists thought that the juries elect
| ed to confer the prizes were not aetua-
ted by proper motives; that young
chaps with pulls" got prizes that be-
longed to other and worthier young
sters. Every big artist wants his own
pupils to bag the prizes. That's per-
fectly natural 1t is also perfectly nat
ural for big artist to think that if his
pet pupils do not take prizes, there
| must be iniquity at work. Finally a
| certain set of artists with Puvis de
| Chavannes at their head worked them
| selves up into such a state of mind that
| they went off and established a new, in
| dependent and rival Salon. Any king
| would have made short work with the
| seceders. But France is now repub-
lie and there was no power to stop the
| secession. The utterly falacious and
| most injurious notion that all men are
born free and equal, and therefore con-
tinue so through life, is nearly as pre-
| valent In France as in the United
States. If you could have people born
free and equal to begin with you might
| start the theory. But the social and
physical dependencies and inequalities
at birth are so enormous that it takes
| several generations to overcome them.
| But this is not letter on political
| economy, but on French art.
The two Salons are of course opposed
to one another Their opposition has
destroyed the possibility of the exist
ence of any one standard of French
| taste. How far this opposition Is re-
| sponsible for the present deplorable
| condition of French art Is an open
| question Neither party admits the ex-
| istence Of the deplorable condition ex-
| cept as shown in the works of the other
party. But every unprecedented out
slider sees in both Salons a sad depar-
ture in conception, composition and
technique from the high standard of the
| time of the third empire.
The old Salon is still far ahead
Some people are predicting that the
new Salon will die out in year or two
On the other hand the new Salon people
, will tell you that the old Salon is a de-
| crepit concern lettering on its last legs.
| If numbers count, the old Salon is still
| very vigorous. 1t displays 1922 objects
of all kinds; though on account of re-
| duced space, owing to preparations for
| the grand exposition of 1890, it was
| obliged to refuse over two thousand
pictures. The new Salon with limitless
space exhibits but 1892 objects of all
kinds. The new Salon is especially
weak in sculpture, in which the old Sa-
Ion is particularly strong, if particular
ly abominable.
A detailed account of two or three of
the principle pictures in the old Salon
will give you better idea of the pres
ent condition of French art than pages
of generalities and criticism. The old
Salon is still held in the building in the
Champs Elysees, called the Palais de L
Industrie, erected in 1855 for the first
international Exhibition held in Paris.
1t is a magnificent building of stone,
iron and glass, nearly a quarter of a
mile long and most admirably adapted
to its purposes. 1t seems an awful pity
to tear 1t down. Yet down it must
come and is coming to make room for
the newer and larger buildings to be
erected for the exhibition Of 1900. The