The ''Écoles gratuites de dessin'' (

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

for ''free drawing schools'') were several

art school An art school is an educational institution with a primary focus on practice and related theory in the visual arts and design. This includes fine art – especially illustration, painting, contemporary art, sculpture, and graphic design. T ...

s founded in eighteenth-century

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, notably the ''École Royale Gratuite de Dessin'' in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. Around sixty independent ''Écoles gratuites de dessin'' were established in France during the eighteenth century

Age of Enlightenment The Age of Enlightenment (also the Age of Reason and the Enlightenment) was a Europe, European Intellect, intellectual and Philosophy, philosophical movement active from the late 17th to early 19th century. Chiefly valuing knowledge gained th ...

. They provided drawing lessons to the general public, including to apprentices whose craft required the ability to draw. The schools were mostly established in provincial France between 1750 and 1792. In 1777, a royal declaration subjected the schools to the authority of the

Académie Royale An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the g ...

, but this did not hinder their development. The schools varied in size from single-teacher schools with a few dozen students to those in

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( ; ; Gascon language, Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde Departments of France, department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the Prefectures in F ...

and

Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

which had more than twelve teachers and several hundred students. The Paris school of Jean-Jacques Bachelier may have had up to 1,500 students. Some of the schools taught

painting Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...

and

sculpture Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

as well as drawing.

École Royale Gratuite de Dessin

The ''École Royale Gratuite de Dessin'' (Royal Free Drawing School), also known as the ''École Gratuite de Dessin'' or the ''Petite École'', was founded in 1766 by Jean-Jacques Bachelier, and confirmed in 1767 by letters patent from

Louis XV of France Louis XV (15 February 1710 – 10 May 1774), known as Louis the Beloved (), was King of France from 1 September 1715 until his death in 1774. He succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV at the age of five. Until he reached maturity (then defi ...

. After several changes of name, in 1877 the school became the ''École Nationale des Arts Décoratifs'' (National School of Decorative Arts) before taking its present name of ''

École Nationale Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs The École nationale supérieure des Arts Décoratifs (; ÉnsAD) also known as Arts Decos' and École des Arts décoratifs, is a public grande école of art and design, constituent member of PSL Research University. The school is located in the R ...

'' (ENSAD, Higher National School of Decorative Arts) in 1927.(f
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ecoles Gratuites de Dessin Art schools in France