20th Century School, Oil On Canvas According To F.-j. Heim, Charles X Distributing Rewards

This large oil on canvas, French school of the 20th century, reproduces at half scale the painting by François-Joseph HEIM representing Charles X distributing awards to the exhibiting artists of the Salon of 1824 at the Louvre, on January 15, 1825.
It is a panoramic composition, located in the Salon Carré, one of the most famous rooms of the Louvre dedicated to the arts. It is this room which also gave its name to all the artistic Salons! The crowds rush there to admire the sculptures presented and the paintings hung against the walls against each other, sometimes several meters high.
It was on the initiative of Colbert that we owe the first Salon in France in 1667. The exhibitions organized in the Salon Carré of the Louvre presented works executed by living artists. Aware of the advantages they could gain from a skillful "cultural policy," princes often had themselves depicted surrounded by artists who served as foils. Charles X, in this emblematic representation, continues the tradition of his ancestors on the throne of France.
During his visit to the Salon of 1824, Charles X, who had just acceded to the throne following the death of his brother Louis XVIII on September 16, 1824, emphasized the importance he intended to give to the fine arts. While perpetuating the royal tradition, Charles X also extended Napoleon's policy by proceeding, like him, to the distribution of medals and decorations. It was on this day of January 15, 1825, after having himself been decorated with the Legion of Honor, that François-Joseph Heim received the commission for this painting which was to immortalize the ceremony.
In the center of the group of personalities, King Charles X hands the Saint-Michel cord to a man who is bowing, the sculptor Pierre Cartellier (1757-1831). Artists of the "grand genre" (history painting and statuary) could be rewarded with the cordon of Saint-Michel, the highest mark of recognition, abolished in 1789 then reinstated by Louis XVIII in 1816.
On the left, the statue of Charles X by Jean-Pierre Cortot dominates the assembly composed of a hundred artists, including Ingres, Isabey père et fils, Horace Vernet, Gros, Gérard, Bosio, Boilly, Ducis, Drolling, Elisabeth Vigée-Lebrun as well as the composers Boëldieu, Rossini, Cherubini… We notice that each one does not pay the same attention to the award ceremony and turns around, as if to check who is present…
There is a beautiful light and a lovely depth of field from this painting with warm colors contrasting with the dark gala clothes of the crowd represented there. The canvas is unsigned and unframed.
The original work is on display at the Louvre Museum.