Salon of 1857

The Salon of 1857 was an art exhibition held in Paris, as part of the regular tradition of Salons. It was held at the Palace of Industry built for the Exposition Universelle in 1855. Organised by the Académie des Beaux-Arts, it opened on 15 June 1857. The Salon reverted to its traditional formal after the Salon of 1855, part of the Exposition Universelle, which had featured a large number of retrospective works from both France and elsewhere. The number of French artists selected to display work increased by nearly 400 between the two salons. For the first time the Salon accepted submissions of photography which was increasingly accepted as an art form in its own right.^[1]

Amongst paintings on display were The Congress of Paris by Édouard Dubufe depicting the diplomatic gathering of the same name that brought an end to the Crimean War.^[2] The Medal of Honour was awarded to The Capture of the Tower at Malakoff by Adolphe Yvon, featuring a key moment of the conflict.^[3] MJean-Léon Gérôme enjoyed great public success with The Duel After the Masquerade.^[4] The author Jules Verne reviewed the Salon in a series of articles.