French Art Salons and Academies - History

History

Academies first began to appear in France in the Renaissance. In 1570 Jean-Antoine de Baïf created one devoted to poetry and music, the Académie de poésie et de musique, inspired by Italian models (such as the academy around Marsilio Ficino).

The first half of the seventeenth century saw a phenomenal growth in private learned academies, organized around a half-dozen or a dozen individuals meeting regularly. By the middle of the century, the number of private academies decreased as academies gradually came under government control, sporsorship and patronage.

The first private academy to become "official" and to this day the most prestigious of governmental academies is the Académie française ("French Academy"), founded in 1634 by Cardinal Richelieu. It is concerned with the French language. In the fine arts, the Académie de peinture et de sculpture ("Academy of Painting and Sculpture") was founded by Cardinal Mazarin in 1648 and was soon followed by a number of other officially instituted academies: the Académie royale de danse ("Royal Academy of Dance") in 1661; the Académie royale des inscriptions et médailles ("Royal Academy of Inscriptions and Medals") in 1663 ; the Académie royale des sciences ("Royal Academy of Sciences") in 1666; the Académie d'Opéra ("Academy of Opera") in 1669 ; and the Académie royale d'architecture ("Royal Academy of Architecture") founded by Jean-Baptiste Colbert in 1671.

In 1793 during the French Revolution the academies were suppressed, but in 1795 the Institut national des sciences et des arts (now the Institut de France) was established and consisted of three Classes: Sciences physiques et mathématiques ("Physical and Mathematical Sciences"); Sciences morales et politiques ("Moral and Political Sciences"); and Littérature et beaux-arts ("Literature and Fine Arts"). In 1803 under Napoleon the name was changed to Institut national de France, and it was reorganized into four Classes: 1. Sciences physiques et mathématiques; 2. La Langue et littérature françaises ("French Literature and Language"); 3. Histoire et littérature anciennes ("History and Ancient Literature"); and 4. Beaux-arts ("Fine Arts"). The Institut was renamed the Institut de France in 1806 and Institut impérial de France in 1811.

The Institut was renamed again in 1814 under the Bourbon Restoration to Institut royal de France, and in 1816, the older appellation of "Académie" was revived, when it was reorganized into four sections: the Académie française; the Académie des inscriptions et belles-lettres; the Académie des sciences; and the Académie des beaux-arts. The last consisted of three subordinate academies, those of painting and sculpture, music, and architecture. In 1833 the earlier class, Sciences morales et politiques, which had been suppressed in 1803 under Napoleon, was revived as a fifth academy, the Académie des sciences morales et politiques.