Salon (gathering) - Salons Outside of France

Salons Outside of France

Salon sociability quickly spread through Europe. In the 18th and 19th centuries, many large cities in Europe had salons copied on the Parisian models, although those were not as prominent as their French counterparts.

In 18th century England, salons were held by Elizabeth Montagu, in whose salon the expression blue stockings originated, and who created the Blue Stockings Society, and by Hester Thrale. In the 19th century, the Russian Baroness Méry von Bruiningk hosted a salon in St. John's Wood, London, for refugees (mostly German) of the revolutions of 1848 (the Forty-Eighters). In Germany, the most famous were held by Jewish ladies, such as Henriette Herz and Rahel Varnhagen; in Spain, by María del Pilar Teresa Cayetana de Silva y Álvarez de Toledo, 13th Duchess of Alba at the end of the 18th century; and in Greece by Alexandra Mavrokordatou in the 17th century.

Italy had had an early tradition of the salon; the courtisan Tullia d'Aragona held a salon already in the 16th century, and Giovanna Dandolo became known as a patron and gatherer of artists as wife of Pasquale Malipiero, the doge in Venice in 1457-1462; the real pioneers were instead the abdicated Queen Christina of Sweden and the princess Colonna, Marie Mancini, who rivaled as salon hostesses in 17th century Rome.

The tradition of the literary salon continued to flourish in Italy throughout the nineteenth century. Naturally there were many salons with some of the most prominent being hosted by Clara Maffei in Milan, Emilia Peruzzi in Florence and Olimpia Rossi Savio in Turin. The salons attracted countless outstanding nineteenth century figures including the romantic painter Francesco Hayez, composer Giuseppe Verdi and naturalist writers Giovanni Verga, Bruno Sperani and Matilde Serao. The salons served a very important function in nineteenth century Italy, as they allowed young attendees to come into contact with more established figures. They also served as a method of avoiding government censorship, as a public discussion could be held in private. The golden age of the salon in Italy could be said to coincide with the pre-unification period, after which the rise of the newspaper replaced the salon as the main place for the Italian public to engage in conversation.

In Iberia or Latin America, a tertulia is a social gathering with literary or artistic overtones. The word is originally Spanish and has only moderate currency in English, in describing Latin cultural contexts. Since the 20th century, a typical tertulia has moved out from the private drawing-troom to become a regularly scheduled event in a public place such as a bar, although some tertulias are still held in more private spaces. Participants may share their recent creations (poetry, short stories, other writings, even artwork or songs).

In Poland, the duchess Sieniawska held a salon in the end of the 17th century. They became very popular there during the 18th century. The most renowned were the Thursday Dinners of King Stanisław August Poniatowski in the end of 18th century, and the most notable salonnières were Zofia Lubomirska and Izabela Czartoryska.

In Scandinavia, the salon was introduced in Sweden by Sophia Elisabet Brenner in the end of the 17th century, though the poet Vendela Skytte was already known to have gathered a cultural circle. Noted salonniéres here during the 18th century were Hedvig Charlotta Nordenflycht and Anna Maria Lenngren, who acted as the hosts of the academy Tankebyggarorden and the Royal Swedish Academy respectively, while Hedvig Catharina Lilje and Henrika Juliana von Liewen hosted the political salons of the Hats (party); in the 19th century, Malla Silfverstolpe became the perhaps best-known salon hostess in her country's history. In Denmark, Christine Sophie Holstein and Charlotte Schimmelman were the most notable hostesses, in the beginning and in the end of the 18th century respectively, both of whom were credited with political influence.

Increasingly emancipated German-speaking Jews wanted to immerse themselves in Germany's rich cultural life. However, individual Jews were faced with a dilemma: they faced new opportunities, but without the comfort of a secure community. For Jewish women, there was an additional issue. German society imposed the usual gender role restrictions and antisemitism, so cultivated Jewish women tapped into the cultural salon. But from 1800 on, salons performed a political and social miracle. The salon allowed Jewish women to establish a venue in their homes in which Jews and non-Jews could meet in relative equality. Like-minded people could study art, literature, philosophy or music together. This handful of educated, acculturated Jewish women could escape the restrictions of their social ghetto. Naturally the women had to be in well-connected families, either to money or to culture. In these mixed gatherings of nobles, high civil servants, writers, philosophers and artists, Jewish salonnières created a radical vehicle for democratisation, providing a context in which patrons and artists freely exchanged ideas. Henriette Lemos Herz, Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel, Dorothea Mendelssohn Schlegel, Amalie Wolf Beer and at least twelve other salonnières achieved fame and admiration.

American "society hostesses" such as Perle Mesta have performed a function similar to the host or hostess of the European salon.

In the 21 Century, as the use of computer and internet become common, modern salonnières become self taught in computer science, they started to build websites and create blogs to host their salons online. One of such examples is The Genius Salon, it is hosted by Ms Z and many high profile intellectuals have appeared at the website. There's no biased criteria for guest selection, the website welcomes scientists, artists and writers alike. It also features survival tips of normal people in real life and self help guides.