Academic instruction between the 17th and 18th centuries
In 1666 Colbert decided to found the Académie of France in Rome so
that selected artists could round-off their training and provide the royal
construction sites of France with copies of classical and Renaissance paintings.
Selected artists remained there
for four years. It was only after their stay in Rome that an artist's career
would take a definitive turn. The first stage was admission
into the Académie then reception.
Despite the fact that not all artists were chosen for Rome, they all prized
their status as academicians. Once an artist was "received" into the Académie,
he gained the most enviable title of "Peintre du Roi' or "King's painter".
Between the foundation of the Académie in 1648 and its closure in 1793, the Académie went through many upheavals but it always remained the centre of trends in French painting. All artistic debates of any significance happened here. Beyond any questions of power struggles, the Académie was a dynamic place of artistic renewal and a hub of social mobility for its members.
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