During a time when France’s industrial output doubled, the population engaged in agriculture and fisheries decreased by over 50%. Meanwhile, due to the significant mobility revolution brought by the commercialisation of railways, urban workers adopting modern lifestyles surged to nearly 40% of the French population. Through railways, the world’s reach expanded for the public. During this period, the bourgeois, who economically and socially sustained France and led in culture and the arts, sought to break away from the rigid social and cultural codes of the early-to-mid-19th century aristocratic society. Amidst these changes, artists who resisted compliance with the existing academy system, including the Ecole des Beaux-Arts and the Salon exhibitions, emerged. These artists, later known as Impressionists and honoured as pioneers of modern and contemporary painting, were born in the 1840s. They declared a departure from traditional institutionalised art through the first Impressionist exhibition in 1874. The gradual growth of the art market, accompanied by the expansion of bourgeois audiences, disrupted the exclusive status of the Salon. Tired of conventional styles, the audience began to show interest, leading to significant purchases and patronage.
