The turbulent beginnings of the royal Académie of painting and sculpture 1648-1663
At the beginning of the 17th century, most painters belonged
to the Maîtrise, a
medieval-type guild. However, many painters working for the royal court
as well as foreign painters chose not to belong. Members of the Maîtrise
(or "Masters") were keen to protect their privileges and strove to limit
the number of these exceptions. A group of artists, including the young
Le Brun, reacted against the snobbism of the Masters. An official request
addressed to the King's Council on 20th January 1648 by the councillor
Martin de Charmois marks the real beginning of the Académie which
assembled for the first time on 1st February of the same year. Following
the example of the Italian academies,
the new academicians sought to reaffirm the superiority of painting over
lower crafts practised by the Masters.
Royal patronage became progressively more visible once the Académie
was installed in the Louvre in 1656 and following Colbert's appointment
as vice-protector in 1661. The Académie's status was confirmed in
1663 when new statutes were drawn up stating that all painters working for
the service of the court should henceforth become members of the Académie.
Academic instruction was
essentially theoretical. Aside from the fact that it had a monopoly on life
drawing, its real originality lay in its ambitious programme of conferences
on artistic themes.
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