This year, the Salon d’Automne dedicates its Drawing – Watercolour section to various creations, presenting an anthology of styles and techniques specific to contemporary drawing.

For centuries, French culture has continued to classify artistic disciplines. In this way, two categories have emerged throughout history, opposing the major arts, called Fine Arts (which include cinema during the 20th century, renamed the “seventh art”) and the minor arts, including for example ceramics, goldsmithery and jewellery.

Drawing takes time to impose itself in the history of art collections. It is first considered a preparatory work, a necessary task to rise larger projects, rather than a discipline in its own. It gradually gain its ranks of nobility during the Renaissance, finally finding his place in prestigious collections. Thus, from the restricted circle of the great Renaissance masters, the collections of drawings have expanded throughout history to emerging artists, who have get more autonomy.

Today, Drawing occupies a prominent place in contemporary creation, whose artists selected for this 2023-2024 session testify in all their diversity.

To discover the artists in this section, visit the virtual exhibition