SALONS DURING THE AGE OF ENLIGHTENMENT

World Civilizations Mrs. Lauterhahn

WHAT IS A SALON?

A salon is a social gathering of people, usually in a private residence, to share ideas and artistic expression and to educate each other.

In Europe, they have existed from about the 1580s and played a central role in both the Renaissance and the Age of Enlightenment.

The Enlightenment reached its peak in the 1700’s and Paris was a center of intellectual activity so Parisian women hosted these social gatherings.

THE CODE The hostesses were most often wealthy

women. The salons were not only French. There were similar movements in the coffee

houses of England and Germany. And of course, non-European cultures also

had forms of salon gatherings.

SALON ART Here is a painting of a salon entitled “A

reading of Molière” by Jean François de Troy from about 1728.

Note the large presence of women.

THE AGE OF ENLIGHTENMENT The salons became an institution of the

Enlightenment and served as a major channel of communication among intellectuals.

The Age of Enlightenment was one of the great times of European history and reached its peak in the 18th century.

It centered around the idea that humans could be rational and control their world through science and knowledge

ROLE IN DEMOCRACY The Age of Enlightenment also formulated

the political concepts that now define our modern democratic societies.

The United States, for example, was founded during the Age of Enlightenment and to this day shows both the Enlightenment’s strengths and weaknesses.

ROLE OF WOMEN IN SALONS Since most of the salons were hosted by women,

the salons have become a focus of feminist scholarship.

Feminist historians note how women held power by controlling who was invited to participate and through moderating discussion.

The salon also became a way for women to pursue a form of higher education -- they exchanged ideas, received and gave criticism, read their own works and heard the works and ideas of other intellectuals.

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WHY WAS THIS IMPORTANT? This was important, because it is only

very recently that women have been allowed into many of our universities.

Princeton and Yale, for example, only opened their doors to women in 1969.