Summarize the history of art academies in Europe. What was their role in the 17th and 18th centuries? Describe the curriculum and why certain types of art were emphasized.

What will be an ideal response?

Art academies began during the Renaissance and over the course of the next two centuries, they were established across Europe. By the close of the 18th century, they were at the center of artistic life, closely aligned with the goals of the monarchy. Academies were inherently conservative. Their aim was to maintain official standards of skill and taste by perpetuating models of greatness from the past, especially the Classical past.

Students began by copying drawings, then advanced to drawing fragments of Classical statues-isolated heads, feet, torsos. They learned to draw gestures, poses, and facial expressions that expressed a great variety of dramatic situations and emotions. This emphasis on mastering the human form was linked to the belief that the greatest subject for art was history, including biblical and mythological scenes, historical events, and episodes from famous literary works. After history, portraiture had the most prestige. Then, in descending order, came genre painting, still life, and landscape.