As you head this evening to the monthly book club, relish the thought that you are continuing a tradition that initiated in Ancient Greece. A gathering of individuals willing to discuss a work of literature (or music, or art) to invite and respect opinions, became a frequent society pastime in 16th-century Italy and was adopted with greater enthusiasm in 17th and 18th-century Paris. The raison d'être of these parties was intellectual and artistic intercourse, but of great importance was also the introductions of artists to potential Maecenas, the mingling of aristocracy and finance, a display of fashion and gossip.

In this context, the hostess of the salon had great power and a high degree of responsibility: she decided the timing and frequency of the salon, the theme, the note and the menu; most importantly, the guest list had to be carefully compiled as to both encourage young talent and nourish existing connections. The hostess was a true influencer in the age of that social medium.

The art and the science

Being a hostess required a range of qualities, talent and knowledge as well as a desire to dedicate time and effort to the advancement of art and culture. As the venue was the salon (from the Italian ‘salone’ – large reception room) of her home, the hostess would be the centre of attention, but she would also guide the conversation to make all the guests feel included, to ensure the right introductions and connections. From poetry readings to politics, via arts, theatre, music, science and architecture, the discussions were animated and always remained polite. The hostess made sure to invite individuals known for different opinions without sparking conflict. The only sparkles allowed came from the hostesses’ wit.

Salon sisters

Before the explosion of the salon culture in 17th-century Paris, there were the Renaissance sisters-in-law Elisabetta Gonzaga, Duchess of Urbino, and Isabella d’Este, Marchioness of Mantua. Both women belonged to established noble families, were highly educated and intelligent and supporters of the arts. Isabella in particular is associated with the greatest names in Renaissance painting: Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, Bellini, Mantegna, and Titian worked for her.

As was their wont, the French adopted the trend and turned it into an art – and a significant cultural aspect of the Enlightment. A place of social intercourse, the salon brought together artists, writers and philosophers, one of the very few places where aristocrats and bourgeois met to exchange ideas. From the blue room of the Marquise de Rambouillet to Mademoiselle de Scudery’s bedroom, the salons played an important role in the advancement of French language and literature. As well as serious intellectual debate, the hostesses organised games, role play and poetry writing sessions; play on words, puns, banter and flirting were practiced too, but ultimately designed to develop sophisticated expression in writing and in public speaking.

Literary and artistic movements were born and flourished in the salons. Among them, the amusingly named ‘Les Précieuses’ was a movement characterised by an extremely refined language and behaviour centred around romantic love. Ahead of other feminist trends, les Précieuses refused marriage, choosing instead platonic love and the freedom to participate in all aspects of cultural life. Novelists Madeleine de Scudéry and Madame de La Fayette, epistolaire Madame de Sévigné, were strong voices of the Précieuses movement, calling for women’s education and access to all areas of public life.

Courting controversy

Unsurprisingly, the Précieuses and their ideas attracted criticism as well as praise. Some were criticised by the literary establishment. Molière, a celebrated playwright at the time, delighted audiences with his satires Les Précieuses Ridicules and Les Femmes Savantes. Even enlightened characters of the Enlightment, such as Jean-Jaques Rousseau, believed women were only suited to home life and if they were to be educated, that would be in order to become more useful to men.

Given the tense situation in France towards the end of the XVIII century, salons became more focused on social and political discussions, thus inviting even stronger opposition. One of the prominent figures of the time was the French-Swiss intellectual and writer Germaine de Staël.‘I have four enemies: Prussia, Russia, England, and Mme de Staël’ declared Napoleon in the early 1800s. Initially an admirer of Napoleon, Germaine de Staël became more critical of his regime as the emperor’s policies and actions became more autocratic. Her privileged position, due to her husband’s diplomatic role and her own vast fortune, allowed her to openly criticise Napoleon.

Her ideas of liberalism were in stark contrast with the Napoleonic tyranny, it was not an attitude that Bonaparte could tolerate, and eventually she was exiled without trial. She travelled extensively and continued to write (Corrine ou l’Italie was published during that time). Her salon at Coppet, which attracted other prominent anti-Napoleonic characters, became, according to Stendhal ‘the general headquarters of European thought’.

The Enlightment, or the Age of Reason, did much for the advancement of science, philosophy and the arts. At the sophisticated salons of the XVIIIe and XIXe century, a conversation about ‘natural rights’ was building the foundations of what was to become international human rights. There was, however, limited appetite for a discussion on women’s rights.

Americans in Paris

During the following years, the salons experienced a rise to their apogee, followed by decline. Famous writers (Proust) actors (Sarah Bernhardt) composers (Saint-Saëns) painters, duchesses and generals frequented gatherings such as the salon of Madeleine Lemaire in rue Monceau. Careers were launched, reputation enhanced or destroyed in these salons.

The first American invasion of Paris took place in the 1920s: the number of American tourists reached 400,000 a year, while the number of Americans permanently residing in Paris quadrupled to 32,000. As well as financially (a weak French franc) Paris was culturally the most active and attractive city, in terms of innovation and freedom of expression. The immigrants formed their own literary salons. Like their predecessors, these salons provided a forum for intellectual and artistic exchange. One of the most prominent hostesses of the time was writer and modern art collector Gertrude Stein. Her apartment in the 6th arrondissement, which she shared with Alice B. Toklas, was frequented by writers Ernst Hemingway, Ezra Pound, F.Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald, as well as painters Picasso and Matisse.

Her compatriot, Natalie Clifford Barney, also a writer, hosted a weekly salon, every Friday, for sixty years. It would be an understatement to describe Natalie Barney as unconventional. She was a vocal defender of women’s rights and was open about her many lesbian relationships. While her own writing did not make an impression on the literary world, her salons brought together an international constellation of writers and artists – among them Paul Valéry, Ezra Pound, Colette, Max Jacob, James Joyce, T.S. Eliot. She lived long enough to see the second wave of the feminist movement, and to rejoice or regret having contributed to the building of its foundation.