The
French Academy in Rome is an Academy located in the
Villa MediciThe Villa Medici is a mannerist villa and an architectural complex with a garden contiguous with the larger Borghese gardens, on the Pincian Hill next to Trinità dei Monti in Rome, Italy. The Villa Medici, founded by Ferdinando I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany and now property of the French...
, within the
Villa BorgheseVilla Borghese is a large landscape garden in the naturalistic English manner in Rome, containing a number of buildings, museums and attractions. It is the second largest public park in Rome after that of the Villa Doria Pamphili...
, on the Pincio (Pincian Hill) in
RomeRome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
,
ItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
.
History
The Academy was founded at the Palazzo Capranica in 1666 by
Louis XIVLouis XIV , known as Louis the Great or the Sun King , was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and Navarre. His reign, from 1643 to his death in 1715, began at the age of four and lasted seventy-two years, three months, and eighteen days...
under the direction of
Jean-Baptiste ColbertJean-Baptiste Colbert was a French politician who served as the Minister of Finances of France from 1665 to 1683 under the rule of King Louis XIV. His relentless hard work and thrift made him an esteemed minister. He achieved a reputation for his work of improving the state of French manufacturing...
,
Charles Le BrunCharles Le Brun , a French painter and art theorist, became the all-powerful, peerless master of 17th-century French art.-Biography:-Early life and training:...
and
Gian Lorenzo BerniniGian Lorenzo Bernini was an Italian artist who worked principally in Rome. He was the leading sculptor of his age and also a prominent architect...
. The Academy was from the 17th to 19th centuries the culmination of study for select French artists who, having won the prestigious
Prix de RomeThe Prix de Rome was a scholarship for arts students, principally of painting, sculpture, and architecture. It was created, initially for painters and sculptors, in 1663 in France during the reign of Louis XIV. It was an annual bursary for promising artists having proved their talents by...
(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 17th century was
Pierre Le Gros the YoungerPierre Le Gros was a French sculptor, active almost exclusively in Baroque Rome. Nowadays, his name is commonly written Legros, while he himself always signed as Le Gros; he is frequently referred to either as 'the Younger' or 'Pierre II' to distinguish him from his father, Pierre Le Gros the...
.
The Academy was housed in the Palazzo Capranica until 1737, and then in the
Palazzo ManciniThe Palazzo Mancini is a palazzo in Rome, Italy. From 1737 to 1793 it was the second home of the French Academy in Rome.-History:In 1634 Lorenzo Mancini, brother of cardinal Francesco Maria Mancini, married Geronima Mazzarino, sister of cardinal Mazarin...
from 1737 to 1793. In 1803 Napoleon Bonaparte moved it to the Villa Medici, with the intention of perpetuating an institution once threatened by the
French RevolutionThe French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
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, were a compulsory requirement for all the pensionaries.
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
NiceNice is the fifth most populous city in France, after Paris, Marseille, Lyon and Toulouse, with a population of 348,721 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Nice extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of more than 955,000 on an area of...
then to
FontainebleauFontainebleau 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 of Fontainebleau...
until 1945. The competition and Prix de Rome were eliminated in 1968 by
André MalrauxAndré Malraux DSO was a French adventurer, award-winning author, and statesman. Having traveled extensively in Indochina and China, Malraux was noted especially for his novel entitled La Condition Humaine , which won the Prix Goncourt...
(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-ArtsThe Académie des Beaux-Arts is a French learned society. It is one of the five academies of the Institut de France.It was created in 1795 as the merger of the:* Académie de peinture et de sculpture...
in Paris and the
Institut de FranceThe Institut de France is a French learned society, grouping five académies, the most famous of which is the Académie française.The institute, located in Paris, manages approximately 1,000 foundations, as well as museums and chateaux open for visit. It also awards prizes and subsidies, which...
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,
restorationConservation-restoration, also referred to as conservation, is a profession devoted to the preservation of cultural heritage for the future. Conservation activities include examination, documentation, treatment, and preventive care...
,
writingWriting is the representation of language in a textual medium through the use of a set of signs or symbols . It is distinguished from illustration, such as cave drawing and painting, and non-symbolic preservation of language via non-textual media, such as magnetic tape audio.Writing most likely...
and even cookery). 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, one or two years.
The building and its dependences were the object of a new rehabilitation and modernization campaign, in which the restoration of the facade over the gardens constitutes the most spectacular step. The works continued under the direction of the previous director,
Richard PeduzziRichard Peduzzi is a French scenographer. He was the director of the French Academy in Rome from September 2002 to August 2008....
, a painter and scénographe, and the Villa present exhibitions and shows created by its boarders.
List of directors
Many famous artists have been director of the Academy:
- 1666-1672 : Charles Errard
Charles Errard the Younger was a French painter, architect and engraver, co-founder and director of the Académie royale de peinture et de sculpture...
- 1673-1675 : Noël Coypel
Noël Coypel , French painter, also called, from the fact that he was much influenced by Poussin, Coypel le Poussin, was the son of an unsuccessful artist....
- 1675-1684 : Charles Errard
Charles Errard the Younger was a French painter, architect and engraver, co-founder and director of the Académie royale de peinture et de sculpture...
- 1684-1699 : Matthieu de La Teullière
Matthieu de La Teullière was a 17th century French artist. From 1684 to 1699 he was the director of the French Academy in Rome....
- 1699-1704 : René-Antoine Houasse
René-Antoine Houasse was a decorative French painter.He was a pupil of Charles Le Brun, under whose direction he worked at the Manufacture des Gobelins, and with whom he worked on the decoration of the Château de Versailles. He was the director of the French Academy in Rome from 1699 to 1704...
- 1704-1725 : Charles-François Poerson
Charles François Poerson was a French painter. He was director of the French Academy in Rome from 1704 until his death.-Life:...
- 1725-1737 : Nicolas Vleughels
Nicolas Vleughels was a French painter. From 1724 until his death he was director of the French Academy in Rome....
- 1737-1738 : Pierre de L'Estache
- 1738-1751 : Jean-François de Troy
- 1751-1775 : Charles-Joseph Natoire
Charles-Joseph Natoire was a French painter in the Rococo manner, a pupil of François Lemoyne and director of the French Academy in Rome, 1751-1775...
- 1775 : Noël Hallé
Noël Hallé was a French painter, draftsman and printmaker. He was born into a family of artists, the son of Claude-Guy Hallé....
- 1775-1781 : Joseph-Marie Vien
Joseph-Marie Vien , French painter, was born at Montpellier. He was the last holder of the post of Premier peintre du Roi, serving from 1789 to 1791....
- 1781-1787 : Louis Jean François Lagrenée
- 1787-1792 : François-Guillaume Ménageot
François-Guillaume Ménageot was a French painter of religious and French historical scenes. A pupil of François Boucher , he went on to win the Grand Prix de Rome and become a director of the French Academy in Rome, an academician and a member of the Institute.-Life:He was born in London, the son...
- 1792-1807 : Joseph-Benoît Suvée
Joseph-Benoît Suvée was a Flemish painter strongly influenced by French neo-classicism.He was born in Bruges. Initially a pupil of Matthias de Visch, he came to France aged 19 and became a pupil of Jean-Jacques Bachelier. In 1771, he won the Prix de Rome...
- 1807 : Pierre-Adrien Pâris
Pierre-Adrien Pâris was a French architect, painter and designer.-Life:He was born at Besançon, the son of an architect and official surveyor at the court of the Prince-Bishop of Basel...
- 1807-1816 : Guillaume Guillon Lethière
- 1816-1823 : Charles Thévenin
Charles Thévenin was a neoclassical French painter, known for heroic scenes from the time of the French Revolution and First French Empire.-Life:...
- 1823-1828 : Pierre-Narcisse Guérin
Pierre-Narcisse, baron Guérin was a French painter.-Biography:Guérin was born in Paris.A pupil of Jean-Baptiste Regnault, he carried off one of the three grands prix offered in 1796, in consequence of the competition not having taken place since 1793...
- 1829-1834 : Horace Vernet
Émile Jean-Horace Vernet was a French painter of battles, portraits, and Orientalist Arab subjects.Vernet was born to Carle Vernet, another famous painter, who was himself a son of Claude Joseph Vernet. He was born in the Paris Louvre, while his parents were staying there during the French...
- 1835-1840 : Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres
- 1841-1846 : Jean-Victor Schnetz
Jean-Victor Schnetz was a French academic painter well regarded for his historical and genre paintings....
- 1847-1852 : Jean Alaux
Jean Alaux, called "le Romain" , was a French history painter and Director of the French Academy in Rome from 1846-52.-Life and work:...
- 1853-1866 : Jean-Victor Schnetz
Jean-Victor Schnetz was a French academic painter well regarded for his historical and genre paintings....
- 1866-1867 : Joseph-Nicolas Robert-Fleury
Joseph Nicolas Robert-Fleury was a French painter.Born in Cologne, he was sent by his family to Paris, and after travelling in Italy returned to France and made his first appearance at the Salon in 1824; his reputation, however, was not established until three years later, when he exhibited Tasso...
- 1867-1873 : Ernest Hébert
thumb|220px|Self-portrait, aged 17.Antoine Auguste Ernest Hébert was a French painter and academic.He was born in Grenoble and died in La Tronche. His painting Mal'aria was exhibited in the Salon of 1850-1851, and now hangs in the Musée d'Orsay, Paris...
- 1873-1878 : Jules Eugène Lenepveu
Jules Eugène Lenepveu Boussaroque de Lafont, known as Jules Eugène Lenepveu was a French painter.Born at Angers, he studied at the école des Beaux-Arts, and later he was a pupil of François-Édouard Picot in Paris. He entered the École nationale. After winning the Prix de Rome, he went to Rome to...
- 1879-1884 : Louis-Nicolas Cabat
Louis-Nicolas Cabat was a French landscape painter.He was one of the most illustrious students of Camille Flers...
- 1885-1890 : Ernest Hébert
thumb|220px|Self-portrait, aged 17.Antoine Auguste Ernest Hébert was a French painter and academic.He was born in Grenoble and died in La Tronche. His painting Mal'aria was exhibited in the Salon of 1850-1851, and now hangs in the Musée d'Orsay, Paris...
- 1891-1904 : Jean-Baptiste-Claude-Eugène Guillaume
- 1905-1910 : Charles-Emile-Auguste Durand
Charles Auguste Émile Durand, known as Carolus-Duran , was a French painter and art instructor. He is noted for his stylish depictions of members of high society in Third Republic France.-Biography:...
, aka. Carolus-DuranCharles Auguste Émile Durand, known as Carolus-Duran , was a French painter and art instructor. He is noted for his stylish depictions of members of high society in Third Republic France.-Biography:...
- 1913-1921 : Albert Besnard
- 1921-1933 : Denys Puech
Denys Puech was a French sculptor.-Life:From a family of farmers , he began as an apprentice in the marble workshop of François Mahoux in Rodez...
- 1933-1937 : Paul-Maximilien Landowski
Paul Maximilien Landowski , a French monument sculptor of Polish ancestry. He was born in Paris to Polish refugees of the January Uprising, and died in Boulogne-Billancourt....
- 1937-1960 : Jacques Ibert
Jacques François Antoine Ibert was a French composer. 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 attempt, despite studies interrupted by his service in World War I.Ibert pursued a successful composing career,...
- 1961-1977 : Comte Balthazar Klossowski de Rola
Balthasar Klossowski de Rola , best known as Balthus, was an esteemed but controversial Polish-French modern artist....
, aka. BalthusBalthasar Klossowski de Rola , best known as Balthus, was an esteemed but controversial Polish-French modern artist....
- 1977-1984 : Jean Leymarie
Jean Leymarie was a French art historian.-Life:Born into a peasant family, he pursued his studies in Toulouse then Paris. After the Second World War, he began his museum career...
- 1985-1994 : Jean-Marie Drot
Jean-Marie Drot is a French writer and documentary maker. He was the director of the French Academy in Rome from 1984 to 1994. Drot is noted for his documentary work on Montparnasse.- Publications :...
- 1994-1997 : Pierre-Jean Angremy
Pierre-Jean Rémy is the pen-name of Jean-Pierre Angremy 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'Académie française for his novel Une ville immortelle.-Early life:Rémy was born in...
, aka. Pierre-Jean RémyPierre-Jean Rémy is the pen-name of Jean-Pierre Angremy 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'Académie française for his novel Une ville immortelle.-Early life:Rémy was born in...
- 1997-2002 : Bruno Racine
Bruno Racine is a French civil servant and writer.-Life:Son of Pierre Racine and Edwina Morgulis, Bruno Racine was born in Paris. He studied at the École La Rochefoucauld then at the lycée Louis-le-Grand before entering the École normale supérieure and obtaining an agrégation in "lettres...
- 2002-2008 : Richard Peduzzi
Richard Peduzzi is a French scenographer. He was the director of the French Academy in Rome from September 2002 to August 2008....
- 2008-2009 : Frédéric Mitterrand
Frédéric Mitterrand , a Franco-Tunisian citizen, is the French Minister of Culture and Communication. Throughout his career, he has been an actor, screenwriter, television presenter, writer, producer and director.-Biography:...
See also
- American Academy in Rome
The American Academy in Rome is a research and arts institution located on the Gianicolo in Rome.- History :In 1893, a group of American architects, painters and sculptors met regularly while planning the fine arts section of the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition...
- British School at Rome
The British School at Rome was established in 1901 and granted a Royal Charter in 1912 as an educational institute in the fields of archaeology, literature, music, and history of Rome and Italy of every period, and for the study of the fine arts and architecture...
- Villa Massimo
Villa Massimo, short for Deutsche Akademie Rom Villa Massimo , is a German art institute in Rome, established in 1910 and located in the Villa Massimo....
External links