L'Académie des beaux-arts
The Académie des beaux-arts (French Academy of Fine Arts), so named since 1816, is one of the five academies that make up the Institut de France (Institute of France), which also includes the Académie Française, the Académie des Sciences, the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres and the Académie des Sciences morales et politiques.
Descended from the royal academies founded in the 17th century, it now enjoys the same special status as the other academies, allowing it to administer itself freely.
In order to support artistic creation*, the Académie des beaux-arts carries out its patronage activities in France and abroad in a variety of ways, in particular by awarding prizes to young and established artists, organising competitions, financing artists' residencies and awarding grants to artistic projects, events and associations. To fulfill this vocation, the Académie des beaux-arts manages its heritage made up with donations, gifts and bequests, and also runs major cultural sites such as the Musée Marmottan Monet (Marmottan Monet Museum) in Paris and the Bibliothèque and villa Marmottan (Boulogne-Billancourt), Claude Monet’s House and Gardens in Giverny, the Villa and gardens Ephrussi de Rothschild (Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat), the Villa Dufraine (Chars), the Maison-atelier Lurçat (Paris), the Auguste Perret appartement (Paris) and the Galerie Vivienne (Paris) of which it is co-owner. It also maintains an active policy of partnerships with a large network of cultural institutions and patrons.
A consultative body for the public authorities, the Académie des beaux-arts also considers artistic issues at its weekly plenary sessions, inviting leading figures from the world of culture to speak on a wide range of subjects.
Based on the idea of multidisciplinarity, the Académie des beaux-arts is composed of 67 members divided into nine artistic sections, 16 foreign associate members (elected from among foreign artists or personalities who contribute through their work to promoting artistic creation) and 67 correspondents (French or foreign personalities who assist the Académie des beaux-arts in its work).
* The mission of the Académie des beaux-arts, as defined in its statutes, is "to contribute to the defence and promotion of the French artistic heritage and to its development, while respecting the pluralism of expression".