The Villa Abd-el-Tif, also known as ''la Villa Medicis algérienne'', is a

Moorish The term Moor, derived from the ancient Mauri, is an exonym first used by Christian Europeans to designate the Muslim inhabitants of the Maghreb, the Iberian Peninsula, Sicily and Malta during the Middle Ages. Moors are not a distinct or se ...

villa located in

Algiers Algiers ( ; ar, الجزائر, al-Jazāʾir; ber, Dzayer, script=Latn; french: Alger, ) is the capital and largest city of Algeria. The city's population at the 2008 Census was 2,988,145Census 14 April 2008: Office National des Statistiques ...

, Algeria. It is notable for having been set up in 1907 in emulation of the French Academy in Rome, the

Villa Medici The Villa Medici () is a Mannerist villa and an architectural complex with a garden contiguous with the larger Borghese gardens, on the Pincian Hill next to Trinità dei Monti in Rome, Italy. The Villa Medici, founded by Ferdinando I de' Medici, ...

. It was, until 1962, home to the laureates of the

Abd-el-Tif prize The Prix Abd-el-Tif (Abd-el-Tif prize) was a French art prize that was awarded annually from 1907–1961. It was modelled on the Prix de Rome, a scholarship that enabled French artists to stay in Rome. The award was devised in 1907 by Léonce B� ...

who were offered bursaries to continue their studies for two years in

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

. Abandoned after the independence of the country, it was classified as a historical monument in 1967 and restored before reopening in 2008. It now houses the headquarters of the ' (AARC). Unlike the

Villa Médicis The Villa Medici () is a Mannerist villa and an architectural complex with a garden contiguous with the larger Borghese gardens, on the Pincian Hill next to Trinità dei Monti in Rome, Italy. The Villa Medici, founded by Ferdinando I de' Medici ...

in Rome there was no permanent French director, the artists had to organize the villa's activities in Algeria as part of the bursary conditions.Élisabeth Cazenave. La villa Abd-el-Tif: un demi-siècle de vie artistique en Algérie, 1907-1962. Association Abd-el-Tif, 1998. 335pp. The villa was not a venue for the teaching of local artists, this was provided already in the ' established 1843. The same model of a bursary was later imitated again with the ''

Prix d'Indochine The Vietnam University of Fine Arts (formerly ''Hanoi College of Fine Arts'') is an art school in Hanoi, Vietnam originally established under French colonial rule in 1925. The university has trained many of Vietnam’s leading artists and each year ...

'' for painters 1920-1939, although no equivalent villa was established in Asia, artists relied on accommodation connected with the ''

École des Beaux-Arts de l'Indochine The Vietnam University of Fine Arts (formerly ''Hanoi College of Fine Arts'') is an art school in Hanoi, Vietnam originally established under French colonial rule in 1925. The university has trained many of Vietnam’s leading artists and each year ...

'' in

Hanoi Hanoi or Ha Noi ( or ; vi, Hà Nội ) is the capital and second-largest city of Vietnam. It covers an area of . It consists of 12 urban districts, one district-leveled town and 17 rural districts. Located within the Red River Delta, Hanoi is ...

. Finally the model was applied a fourth time for a bursary for painters and composers in residence at the ''

Casa de Velázquez The ''Casa de Velázquez'' is a French school in Spain modelled on the Villa Médicis in Rome, and Villa Abd-el-Tif in Algeria.''75 aniversario de la Casa de Velázquez. Memoria gráfica 1928-2003'', Madrid, Casa de Velázquez, 2006, 182 p. - acc ...

'' in Madrid, 1929–present.

References

{{Authority control Moorish architecture Buildings and structures in Algiers 1907 establishments in Algeria