This volume discusses the emergence and role of the art salon in the
Arab region in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, focusing on
Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt, Lebanon and Iraq. Institutional forms of
exhibiting and teaching art emerged in the Middle East and North Africa
in late colonial and early post-colonial contexts. The book examines how
the salon had an impact on the formation of taste and on debates on art,
and discusses the transfers and cultural interactions between the Middle
East, North Africa and Europe. Following the institutional model of the
Paris salons, art salons emerged in Algiers, Tunis and Cairo starting in
the late 1880s. In Beirut, the salon tradition reached its peak only
after independence in the mid-twentieth century. Baghdad never had a
formal salon, but alternative spaces and exhibition formats developed in
Iraq from the late 1940s onwards. As in Paris, the salons in the region
often defined the criteria of artistic production and public taste. The
impact of the salon also lay in its ability to convey particular values,
attitudes and aspirations. At the same time, the values and attitudes
promoted by the salon as well as the salon itself were often subject to
debate, which led to the creation of counter-salons or alternative
exhibition practices. The art salon helps us to understand changes in
the art systems of these countries, including the development of art
schools, exhibition spaces and artist societies, and gives insight into
the power dynamics at play. It also highlights networks and circulations
between the Arab region and Europe.
