The French Academy in Rome (french: Académie de France à Rome) is an Academy located in the Villa Medici, within the Villa Borghese, on the Pincio (Pincian Hill) in Rome, Italy.

History

The Academy was founded at the

Palazzo Capranica The Teatro Capranica is a theatre situated at 101 Piazza Capranica in the Colonna district of Rome. Originally constructed in 1679 by the Capranica family and housed in the early Renaissance Palazzo Capranica, it was the second public theatre to o ...

in 1666 by Louis XIV under the direction of

Jean-Baptiste Colbert Jean-Baptiste Colbert (; 29 August 1619 – 6 September 1683) was a French statesman who served as First Minister of State from 1661 until his death in 1683 under the rule of King Louis XIV. His lasting impact on the organization of the countr ...

, Charles Le Brun and

Gian Lorenzo Bernini Gian Lorenzo (or Gianlorenzo) Bernini (, , ; Italian Giovanni Lorenzo; 7 December 159828 November 1680) was an Italian sculptor and architect. While a major figure in the world of architecture, he was more prominently the leading sculptor of his ...

. The Academy was from the 17th to 19th centuries the culmination of study for select French artists who, having won the prestigious Prix de Rome (Rome Prize), were honored with a 3, 4 or 5-year scholarship (depending on the art discipline they followed) in the Eternal City for the purpose of the study of art and architecture. Such scholars were and are known as ''pensionnaires de l'Académie'' (Academy pensioners). One recipient of the scholarship in the 17th century was Pierre Le Gros the Younger. The Academy was housed in the Palazzo Capranica until 1737, and then in the Palazzo Mancini from 1737 to 1793. In 1803

Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

moved it to the Villa Medici, with the intention of perpetuating an institution once threatened by the French Revolution and, thus, of retaining for young French artists the opportunity to see and copy the masterpieces of the Antiquity or the Renaissance and send back to Paris their "envois de Rome", the results of the inspiration they had gained in Rome. These "envois" were annual works, sent to Paris to be judged, and were a compulsory requirement for all the pensionaries. Portrait of Merry-Joseph Blondel

At first, the villa and its gardens were in a sad state and had to be renovated to house the winners of the Prix de Rome. The competition was interrupted during the first World War, and Mussolini confiscated the villa in 1941, forcing the academy of France in Rome to withdraw to Nice then to

Fontainebleau Fontainebleau (; ) is a commune in the metropolitan area of Paris, France. It is located south-southeast of the centre of Paris. Fontainebleau is a sub-prefecture of the Seine-et-Marne department, and it is the seat of the ''arrondissement ...

until 1945. The competition and Prix de Rome were eliminated in 1968 by André Malraux (the last Grand Prix for architecture came to an end as early as 1967, the events of 1968 preventing its continuation). The Académie des Beaux-Arts in Paris and the Institut de France then lost their guardianship of the Villa Medici to the Ministry of the Culture and the State. From that time on, the boarders no longer belonged solely to the traditional disciplines (painting, sculpture, architecture, medal-engraving, precious-stone engraving, musical composition) but also to new or previously neglected artistic fields (art history, archaeology, literature, stagecraft, photography, movies, video,

restoration Restoration is the act of restoring something to its original state and may refer to: * Conservation and restoration of cultural heritage ** Audio restoration ** Film restoration ** Image restoration ** Textile restoration * Restoration ecology ...

, writing and even cookery). These artists-in-residence are known as ''pensionnaires.'' The French word ‘pension’ refers to the room & board these, generally young and promising, artists receive. The artists are no longer recruited by a competition but by application, and their stays vary from six to eighteen months and even, more rarely, two years. Between 1961 and 1967, the artist

Balthus Balthasar Klossowski de Rola (February 29, 1908 – February 18, 2001), known as Balthus, was a Polish-French modern artist. He is known for his erotically charged images of pubescent girls, but also for the refined, dreamlike quality of his image ...

, then at the head of the Academy, carried out a vast restoration campaign of the palace and its gardens, providing them with modern equipment. Balthus participated "hands on" in all the phases of the construction. Where the historic décor had disappeared, Balthus proposed personal alternatives. He invented a décor that was a homage to the past and, at the same time, radically contemporary: The mysterious melancholic decor he created for Villa Medici has become, in turn, historic and was undergoing an important restoration campaign in 2016. Work continued under the direction of director, Richard Peduzzi, and the Villa Medici resumed organizing exhibitions and shows created by its artists in residence. Under director Frédéric Mitterrand the Academy opened up its guest rooms to the general public at times when they are not used by pensionnaires or other official guests.

List of directors

Many famous artists have been director of the Academy: * 1666-1672: Charles Errard * 1673-1675: Noël Coypel * 1675-1684: Charles Errard * 1684-1699: Matthieu de La Teullière * 1699-1704: René-Antoine Houasse * 1704-1725:

Charles-François Poerson Charles François Poerson (1653 – 2 September 1725) was a French painter. He was director of the French Academy in Rome from 1704 until his death. Biography Poerson studied under his own father Charles Poerson and under Noël Coypel. His no ...

* 1725-1737: Nicolas Vleughels * 1737-1738:

Pierre de L'Estache Pierre de l'Estache (, Paris - 28 November 1774, Rome) was a French sculptor. He produced a copy of the Kallipygian Venus in Rome in 1722-23, for Augustus the Strong's ''Grosser Garten'' in Dresden (this copy was destroyed with the gardens in 194 ...

* 1738-1751:

Jean-François de Troy Jean-François de Troy (27 January 1679, Paris – 26 January 1752, Rome) was a French Rococo easel and fresco painter, draughtsman and tapestry designer. One of France's leading history painters in his time, he was equally successful with his de ...

* 1751-1775:

Charles-Joseph Natoire Charles-Joseph Natoire (3 March 1700 – 23 August 1777) was a French painter in the Rococo manner, a pupil of François Lemoyne and director of the French Academy in Rome, 1751–1775. Considered during his lifetime the equal of François Bouc ...

* 1775 : Noël Hallé * 1775-1781: Joseph-Marie Vien * 1781-1787:

Louis Jean François Lagrenée Louis may refer to: * Louis (coin) * Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name * Louis (surname) * Louis (singer), Serbian singer * HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy See also Derived or associated terms * Lewis ( ...

* 1787-1792: François-Guillaume Ménageot * 1792-1807:

Joseph-Benoît Suvée Joseph-Benoît Suvée (3 January 1743 – 9 February 1807) was a Flemish painter strongly influenced by French neo-classicism. Biography Suvée was born in Bruges. Initially a pupil of Matthias de Visch, he came to France aged 19 and bec ...

* 1807 : Pierre-Adrien Pâris * 1807-1816:

Guillaume Guillon Lethière Guillaume may refer to: People * Guillaume (given name), the French equivalent of William * Guillaume (surname) Other uses * Guillaume (crater) See also * '' Chanson de Guillaume'', an 11th or 12th century poem * Guillaume affair, a Cold War ...

* 1816-1823: Charles Thévenin * 1823-1828:

Pierre-Narcisse Guérin Pierre-Narcisse, baron Guérin (13 March 1774 – 6 July 1833) was a French painter born in Paris. Background A pupil of Jean-Baptiste Regnault, he carried off one of the three ''grands prix'' offered in 1796, in consequence of the competition ...

* 1829-1834: Horace Vernet * 1835-1840: Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres * 1841-1846: Jean-Victor Schnetz * 1847-1852:

Jean Alaux Jean Alaux, called "''le Romain''" ("the Roman"), (1786 – 2 March 1864) was a French history painter and Director of the French Academy in Rome from 1846 to 1852.

* 1853-1866: Jean-Victor Schnetz * 1866-1867: Joseph-Nicolas Robert-Fleury * 1867-1873:

Ernest Hébert Antoine Auguste Ernest Hébert (3 November 1817 – 5 December 1908) was a French academic painter. Biography Hébert was born in Grenoble, son of a notary in Grenoble, and moved in 1835 to Paris to study law. He simultaneously took art ...

* 1873-1878:

Jules Eugène Lenepveu Jules is the French form of the Latin "Julius" (e.g. Jules César, the French name for Julius Caesar). It is the given name of: People with the name *Jules Aarons (1921–2008), American space physicist and photographer *Jules Abadie (1876–195 ...

* 1879-1884: Louis-Nicolas Cabat * 1885-1890:

* 1891-1904: Jean-Baptiste-Claude-Eugène Guillaume * 1905-1910: Charles-Emile-Auguste Durand, a.k.a.

Carolus-Duran Charles Auguste Émile Durand, known as Carolus-Duran (Lille 4 July 1837 – 17 February 1917 Paris), was a French painter and art instructor. He is noted for his stylish depictions of members of high society in Third Republic France. Biograph ...

* 1913-1921:

Albert Besnard Paul-Albert Besnard (2 June 1849 – 4 December 1934) was a French painter and printmaker. Biography Besnard was born in Paris and studied at the École des Beaux-Arts, studied with Jean Bremond and was influenced by Alexandre Cabanel. He wo ...

* 1921-1933: Denys Puech * 1933-1937: Paul-Maximilien Landowski * 1937-1960:

Jacques Ibert Jacques François Antoine Marie Ibert (15 August 1890 – 5 February 1962) was a French composer of classical music. Having studied music from an early age, he studied at the Paris Conservatoire and won its top prize, the Prix de Rome at his first ...

* 1961-1977: Comte Balthazar Klossowski de Rola, a.k.a.

* 1979-1985: Jean Leymarie * 1985-1994: Jean-Marie Drot * 1994-1997: Pierre-Jean Angremy, a.k.a.

Pierre-Jean Rémy Pierre-Jean Rémy is the pen-name of Jean-Pierre Angremy (21 March 1937 – 28 April 2010) who was a French diplomat, novelist, and essayist. He was elected to the Académie française on 16 June 1988, and won the 1986 Grand Prix du roman de l'Ac ...

* 1997-2002:

Bruno Racine Bruno Racine (born 17 December 1951 in Paris) is a French civil servant and writer. Early life and education Racine is the son of Pierre Racine (a conseiller d'État) and Edwina Morgulis, Bruno Racine was born in Paris. He studied at the Éco ...

* 2002-2008: Richard Peduzzi * 2008-2009: Frédéric Mitterrand * 2009–2015: Eric de Chassey * 2015–2018: Muriel Mayette-Holtz * 2020–present:

Sam Stourdzé Sam, SAM or variants may refer to: Places * Sam, Benin * Sam, Boulkiemdé, Burkina Faso * Sam, Bourzanga, Burkina Faso * Sam, Kongoussi, Burkina Faso * Sam, Iran * Sam, Teton County, Idaho, United States, a populated place People and fictional c ...

Notes

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:French Academy In Rome Art schools in Italy French art Foreign academies in Rome 1666 establishments in the Papal States