Salon
was the official art exhibition sponsored by the Académie des Beaux-Arts in Paris. The Académie was begun by Cardinal Mazarin in 1648 under the royal patronage of Louis XIV. The royal Académie exhibition took place in the Salon d'Apollon in the Louvre in 1667 and was meant for only members of the Academy.In 1737 the exhibition was opened to the public and held annually, then biannually (during odd years). In 1748, a jury system was introduced. The jurors were members of the Academy and previous winners of Salon medals.