I believe that the Salon, the public exhibition space of the Académie des Beaux-Arts, was the first significant 'gallery' in our modern sense of the word. The Salon had its roots in the 1670's as a form of official royal approval over the creation and display of certain works of art. Eventually it moved to the Louvre Palace in 1725 (hence the location of today's Louvre Museum), and became more public and more influential over time.

The courts of the Bourbon kings, particularly Louis XIV, lent much support to the arts, but certain styles and techniques (such as historicism) were considered above other styles (like portraiture and landscape). Though most styles were allowed in, the works were displayed in a strict hierarchy, with the large historic and biblical scenes placed high above the smaller, more 'frivolous' pieces. This rigid, semi-annual exhibition was a way of honoring and supporting those artists who did the supporting monarchy credit. It also involved all levels of French society in the appreciation and criticism of art, as the Salon was open to anyone who could pay the price of an entrance ticket (after 1737). Eventually, its influence waned over the course of the 19th c., as anti-academic movements like the Impressionists arose to contest its official control of taste.