more discourse
Described as a fashionable assemblage of notables such as such as literary figures, artists, or states-people gathered under the one roof of an inspiring hostess; to educate, refine and cultivate a ‘common medium for cultural exchange based on.
Salons historically date back to the mid 1600s. Ideally a Salon was a deliberately composed gathering of individuals selected by a salonniere for ‘compatabilities and contrasts’ likely to produce the most interesting conversation.It was also a forum where the particular qualities of invited guests could be amplified.
The duchesse de Duras was known to “weave her variegated guests together with threads of silk and gold to creative a collective being” and while Salons reinforced conformity in terms of the social ‘realities’ of the times they also identified, recruited, shone a light on and promoted individuals of rare talent.
cultivator's salons
Human association is the basis of knowledge. Every two months or so we gather, by invitation only, a group of creative practitioners to discuss big ideas with a purpose to share knowledge and identify common ground
salon culture
Exploring the characters of Salon Culture throughout the eras and continents from Catherine de Vivonne, marquise de Rambouillet, to Leo and Gertrude Stein to Simone de Beauvoir and Jean-Paul Sartre.
ideas matter
Exploring the characters of Salon Culture throughout the eras and continents from Catherine de Vivonne, marquise de Rambouillet, to Leo and Gertrude Stein to Simone de Beauvoir and Jean-Paul Sartre.
Image attribution: Top: Photos from Cultivator’s Table Violette Salon One and Salon Two
Squares: 1. Photo of Liane Rossler sourced from LinkedIn 2. Portrait of Gertrude Stein by Pablo Picasso. Oil on canvas (1906) 3. Photo sourced from unsplash.
Reference: Steven Kale, French Salons: High Society and Political Sociability from the Old Regime to the Revolution of 1848. Chapter 1. Between the Republic and the Grand Monde (2004)