Beginnings

1874: The First Exhibition

An artist-run show, and a mocking new name

In the spring of 1874 painters who had struggled with the Salon jury held their own show in Paris. Monet, Renoir, Degas, Morisot, Pissarro, Sisley and Cézanne showed alongside two dozen other artists, most of them little known today. The works here already show the group's main traits: quick, visible brushwork, passing effects of light and weather, and scenes of modern life.

• The show ran from 15 April to 15 May 1874 on the boulevard des Capucines.
• The artists ran it through a société anonyme, a company they formed, and showed about 200 works.
• Few visitors came and little sold, but the press covered the show widely.

Salon

The official annual Paris exhibition, where a jury chose works and awarded medals.

société anonyme

A French incorporated company; the artists used one to run their show.

catalogue number

A work's number in the 1874 booklet, used to match surviving paintings to the show.

Works in this part

• Impression, Sunrise
• Boulevard des Capucines
• La Loge
• The Dancer
• At the Races in the Countryside
• The Cradle
• The Harbor at Lorient
• White Frost
• Orchard in Bloom, Louveciennes
• A Modern Olympia

Image: Wikimedia Commons · Public domain