The Académie des beaux-arts - Institute of France

Founded in 1795, the Institut of France's mission is to provide the five Academies with a harmonious framework in which to work towards the advancement of literature, the sciences and the arts on a not-for-profit basis.

As a major patron of the arts, it encourages research and supports creative activity by awarding prizes, grants and subsidies (almost €25 million distributed each year through its sheltered foundations).

Placed under the protection of the President of the Republic, it is also the guardian of an important heritage, starting with the Palais du quai de Conti, four libraries including the Mazarine library, and numerous residences and collections bequeathed to it since the end of the 19th century.

These include the Château de Chantilly, the Abbaye de Chaalis, the Musée Jacquemart-André, the Château de Langeais, the Manoir de Kerazan and even the Villa Kérylos.

The Académie des beaux-arts is one of the five academies that make up the Institut de 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 established in the seventeenth century, the Académie des Beaux-Arts, like the other academies, has a special status that allows it to administer itself freely.

The Académie des Beaux-Arts' mission is to "contribute to the defence and illustration of France's artistic heritage, and to support artistic creation, while respecting the pluralism of expressions and disciplines