Salons in Belgrade in the Nineteenth Century: The Coexistence of Different Cultural Models

Abstract

The aim of this study is to describe the emergence of court and bourgeois salons in the nineteenth-century Principality of Serbia, in the context of the socio-historical circumstances and geopolitical background. A selection of examples of salon gatherings organized in Belgrade from the 1830s to the 1870s show the emergence of a new cultural identity through the coexistence and merging of different cultural models: Western European, Ottoman and Serbian. Starting with the first salons, organized in the 1830s in the home of Tomanija and Jevrem Obrenović, salon gatherings will be viewed through the prism of selected court and bourgeois salons. Special attention is paid to salons in which only women took part. In the period of the construction of the modern Serbian state, these salon gatherings contributed to the emancipation of women and their step from the private to the public sphere of society. In order to more comprehensively understand the role and significance of salon, the multi-layered salon practices are observed, with a focus on (1) analysis of the symbolism of interior decoration and clothing and of the social status of salon guests; (2) a reconstruction of the atmosphere through details of refreshments (food and drink), specific decorations of individual salons and dances performed; (3) analysis of the artistic and intellectual content: music, literature, poetry and science.