Salon · 1897
Galerie Georges Petit – last Salon de la Rose+Croix
Address · 8, rue de Sèze, 75009 Paris
Metro · Madeleine (8, 12, 14) / Havre – Caumartin (3, 9)
Today · Fate unknown. The gallery closed in 1933; the building's current use has not been checked.
The story
Georges Petit (1856-1920) was, along with Durand-Ruel, one of the great Parisian art dealers of the late 19th century. His gallery on rue de Sèze, near the Madeleine, was renowned for its vast, luxurious rooms; major international exhibitions were held there, including retrospectives of Monet and Rodin. After Petit's death the business passed to Bernheim-Jeune and the gallery closed in 1933. It attracted a wealthy, cosmopolitan clientele.
According to Churton, it was Petit himself who offered his rooms to the Order of the Catholic Rose+Croix for the 1897 Salon. The exhibition ran from 5 to 21 March and drew a considerable crowd from the opening. The catalogue asserted that man needs mystery, not to penetrate it but to experience it. Armand Point withdrew with a flourish, and Péladan, who was absent, left Larmandie to hang the works. Alexandre Séon, a friend of Péladan, was given particular prominence.
This Salon marked the end of the adventure: Péladan never organized another. The address is a reminder that the aesthetic Rose+Croix, which began in an Impressionist gallery, ended in one of the most fashionable galleries in Paris. The gallery itself has disappeared, and the building retains no visible trace of the exhibition. The Madeleine area, however, remains a district of luxury shops and dealers, as it was at the end of the 19th century. After 1897 the Rose+Croix artists pursued their careers separately, and several of them joined other exhibiting societies.
To be checked · Coordinates estimated from the street number.