Beaux-Arts de Paris, Art school in Saint-Germain-des-Prés, France
Beaux-Arts de Paris is an art school and museum in the Saint-Germain-des-Prés district of central Paris, set across a two-hectare site. The Palais des Études displays frescoes and architectural elements from several centuries, while adjacent buildings house studios and exhibition spaces.
Charles Le Brun founded the institution in 1648 as the royal academy for painting and sculpture. The fusion with the academy of architecture took place in 1817 and shaped the school as it exists today.
The name refers to fine arts and reflects the tradition of uniting painting, sculpture and architecture under one roof. Today students work in open studios where they develop their pieces, while master classes and public exhibitions bring life to the building.
The five-year program combines studio practice with theoretical courses and leads to a master degree recognized since 2012 by Paris Sciences et Lettres University. The library and exhibition rooms are open to visitors, while the studios remain reserved for students.
The collection includes 450,000 artworks and ranks as the second-largest drawings collection after the Louvre. The institution runs its own publishing house that releases about 20 art publications each year.
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