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The excerpt represents the core issue or deciding factor on which you must meditate, and is drawn from Pierre Grassou by Honore de Balzac: works of sculpture and painting, such as it has been since the
revolution of 1830, have you not been seized by a sense of uneasiness,
weariness, sadness, at the sight of those long and over-crowded
galleries? Since 1830, the true Salon no longer exists. The Louvre has
again been taken by assault,--this time by a populace of artists who
have maintained themselves in it.
In other days, when the Salon presented only the choicest works of
art, it conferred the highest honor on the creations there exhibited.
Among the two hundred selected paintings, the public could still
choose: a crown was awarded to the masterpiece by hands unseen. Eager,
impassioned discussions arose about some picture. The abuse showered
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