The Rhetoric of Salon Criticism: Claude Vignon’s Exposition universelle de 1855 – Beaux- Arts

Abstract

Notes the importance of the salon essay in nineteenth-century France. Examines the formal and rhetorical characteristics of one of the salon essays inspired by the very influential 1855 World’s Fair, Exposition universelle de 1855 – Beaux-Arts by Claude Vignon, pseudonym of the sculptor and author Noémie Cadiot, an influential figure in French cultural life whose varied contributions have been neglected. Sheds light on the discursive characteristics of the salon essay in general and gives particular attention to the ways Vignon’s gender influenced the strategies of persuasion and argumentation she employed.