The Prix de Rome () or Grand Prix de Rome was a French scholarship for arts students, initially for painters and sculptors, that was established in 1663 during the reign of

Louis XIV of France LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the List of longest-reign ...

. Winners were awarded a bursary that allowed them to stay in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

for three to five years at the expense of the state. The prize was extended to architecture in 1720, music in 1803 and engraving in 1804. The prestigious award was abolished in 1968 by André Malraux, then Minister of Culture, following the May 68 riots that called for cultural change.

History

The Prix de Rome was initially created for painters and sculptors in 1663 in France, during the reign of

Louis XIV LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the List of longest-reign ...

. It was an annual bursary for promising artists having proved their talents by completing a very difficult elimination contest. To succeed, a student had to create a sketch on an assigned topic while isolated in a closed booth with no reference material to draw on. The prize, organised by the Académie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture (Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture), was open to their students. From 1666, the award winner could win a stay of three to five years at the

Palazzo Mancini The Palazzo Mancini is a palazzo in Rome, Italy.Guerci, M. (2011) ''Palazzo Mancini''. Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato, Rome, 320 pp. From 1737 to 1793 it was the second home of the French Academy in Rome. It is located on Via del Co ...

in Rome at the expense of the King of France. In 1720, the Académie Royale d’Architecture began a prize in architecture. Six painters, four sculptors, and two architects would be sent to the French Academy in Rome founded by Jean-Baptiste Colbert from 1666. Expanded after 140 years into five categories, the contest started in 1663 as two categories: painting and sculpture. Architecture was added in 1720. In 1803, music was added, and after 1804 there was a ''prix'' for engraving as well. The primary winner took the "First Grand Prize" (called the ''agréé''), and the "Second Prizes" were awarded to the runners-up. In 1803,

Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

moved the French Academy in Rome to the Villa Medici, with the intention of preserving an institution once threatened by the French Revolution. At first, the villa and its gardens were in a sad state, and they had to be renovated in order to house the winners of the Prix de Rome. In this way, he hoped to retain for young French artists the opportunity to see and copy the masterpieces of antiquity and the Renaissance.

Jacques-Louis David Jacques-Louis David (; 30 August 1748 – 29 December 1825) was a French painter in the Neoclassicism, Neoclassical style, considered to be the preeminent painter of the era. In the 1780s, his cerebral brand of history painting marked a change in ...

, having failed to win the prize three years in a row, considered suicide.

Édouard Manet Édouard Manet (, ; ; 23 January 1832 – 30 April 1883) was a French Modernism, modernist painter. He was one of the first 19th-century artists to paint modern life, as well as a pivotal figure in the transition from Realism (art movement), R ...

, Edgar Degas, Ernest Chausson, and

Maurice Ravel Joseph Maurice Ravel (7 March 1875 – 28 December 1937) was a French composer, pianist and conductor. He is often associated with Impressionism in music, Impressionism along with his elder contemporary Claude Debussy, although both composer ...

attempted the Prix de Rome but did not gain recognition. Ravel tried a total of five times to win the prize, and the last failed attempt in 1905 was so controversial that it led to a complete reorganization of the administration at the Paris Conservatory. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

(1939–45), the prize winners were accommodated in the Villa Paradiso in

Nice Nice ( ; ) is a city in and the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative city limits, with a population of nearly one millionAndré Malraux, who was Minister of Culture at the time. Since then, a number of contests have been created, and the academies, together with the Institut de France, were merged by the State and the Minister of Culture. Selected residents now have an opportunity for study during an 18-month (sometimes 2-year) stay at The Academy of France in Rome, which is accommodated in the Villa Medici. The heyday of the Prix de Rome was during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. It was later imitated by the Prix Abd-el-Tif and the Villa Abd-el-Tif in Algiers, 1907–1961, and later Prix d'Indochine including a bursary to visit the École des Beaux-Arts de l'Indochine in

Hanoi Hanoi ( ; ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Vietnam, second-most populous city of Vietnam. The name "Hanoi" translates to "inside the river" (Hanoi is bordered by the Red River (Asia), Red and Black River (Asia), Black Riv ...

, 1920–1939, and bursary for 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 ...

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

, 1929–present.

Winners in the Architecture category

The Prix de Rome for Architecture was created in 1720.

18th century (architecture)

Notes

19th century (architecture)

Notes

20th century (architecture)

First Prize Winners in the Painting category

17th century (painting)

18th century (painting)

19th century (painting)

20th century (painting)

First Prize Winners in the Sculpture category

17th century (sculpture)

18th century (sculpture)

19th century (sculpture)

20th century (sculpture)

First Prize Winners in the Engraving category

:The engraving prize was created in 1804.

19th century (engraving)

20th century (engraving)

First Prize Winners in the Musical Composition category

The required composition was originally a

cantata A cantata (; ; literally "sung", past participle feminine singular of the Italian language, Italian verb ''cantare'', "to sing") is a vocal music, vocal Musical composition, composition with an musical instrument, instrumental accompaniment, ty ...

for solo voice and orchestra; later one male and female voice were specified; and later still three voices. Titles of the pieces have generally been restricted to "cantata", "lyric scene" or "dramatic scene".Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 5th edition, 1954, reprinted 1966, Vol. VI, "Prix de Rome", p. 935

19th century (musical composition)

20th century (musical composition)

List of all the winners of the Prix de Rome for musical composition

Prix de Rome (Netherlands)

A Prix de Rome was also established in the Kingdom of Holland by Lodewijk Napoleon to award young artists and architects. During the years 1807–1810 prize winners were sent to Paris and onwards to Rome for study. In 1817, after the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

had gained its independence, King Willem I restarted the prize; though it took until 1823 before the new "Royal Academies" of Amsterdam and Antwerp could organize the juries. Suspended in 1851 it was reinstated in 1870 by

William III of the Netherlands William III (Dutch language, Dutch: ''Willem Alexander Paul Frederik Lodewijk''; English: ''William Alexander Paul Frederick Louis''; 19 February 1817 – 23 November 1890) was King of the Netherlands and Grand Duke of Luxembourg from 1849 until ...

. Since then the winners have been selected by the Rijksakademie in Amsterdam under the main headings of architecture and the visual arts.

Prix de Rome (Belgium)

The Belgian Prix de Rome (Dutch: Prijs van Rome) is an award for young artists, created in 1832, following the example of the original French Prix de Rome. The Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp organised the prize until 1920, when the national government took over. The first prize is also sometimes called the Grand Prix de Rome. There were distinct categories for architecture, painting, sculpture and music.

References

External links

The Prix de Rome Contests in Painting

The Prix de Rome winners in Sculpture (in French)

Liste des pensionnaires de l'Académie de France à Rome, donnant les noms de tous les artistes récompensés dans les concours du Prix de Rome de 1663 à 1907
{{Authority control 1663 establishments in France Awards established in 1663 1968 disestablishments in France European architecture awards French visual arts awards Culture in Rome Education in Rome

History

Winners in the Architecture category

18th century (architecture)

Notes

19th century (architecture)

Notes

20th century (architecture)

First Prize Winners in the Painting category

17th century (painting)

18th century (painting)

19th century (painting)

20th century (painting)

First Prize Winners in the Sculpture category

17th century (sculpture)

18th century (sculpture)

19th century (sculpture)

20th century (sculpture)

First Prize Winners in the Engraving category

19th century (engraving)

20th century (engraving)

First Prize Winners in the Musical Composition category

19th century (musical composition)

20th century (musical composition)

Prix de Rome (Netherlands)

Prix de Rome (Belgium)

See also

References

External links