page_title: Imperial Academy of Fine Arts (Brazil)
section_title: Origins
hierarchical_section_title: Imperial Academy of Fine Arts (Brazil) / Origins
caption_attribution_description: Joachim Lebreton (1760-1819). Gravure de Charles-Victor Normand (1814-18??) d'après François Gérard (1770-1837)
context_page_description: The Imperial Academy of Fine Arts was an institution of higher learning in the arts in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, established by King João VI. Despite facing many initial difficulties, the Academy was established and took its place at the forefront of Brazilian arts education in the second half of the nineteenth century. The Academy became the center of the diffusion of new aesthetic trends and the teaching of modern artistic techniques. It eventually became one of the principal arts institutions under the patronage of Emperor Dom Pedro II. With the Proclamation of the Republic, it became known as the National School of Fine Arts. It became extinct as an independent institution in 1931, when it was absorbed by the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro and became known as the UFRJ School of Fine Arts, which still operates today.
context_section_description: The foundation of art schools in Brazil came from, according to Rafael Denis, Francophile initiatives headed by the ministry of Dom João and the Conde da Barca. These schools were seen as necessary for the formation of specialized professionals to serve the State and its nascent industries. In the early nineteenth century, the educational system was practically non-existent and artistic training was primarily transmitted through apprenticeships. It was thought that, by contracting foreign professors from places like Paris, the school could bring art education to Brazil. 
  Contact was made with Joaquim Lebreton at the Institut de France in the area of Fine Arts and a group of educators was assembled. However, the origins of the school are debated among historians. It is unclear whether Dom João, the Marquis of Marialva, Lebreton, or French artist Nicolas-Antoine Taunay came up with the idea of bringing arts education to Brazil. In any case, Lebreton ultimately took charge of the project and brought a cohort of instructors to Brazil. Within the group, there was a naval architect (Grandjean de Montigny), a mechanical engineer, a master ironsmith, carpenters, and various artisans in addition to traditional artists (including painter Nicolas-Antoine Taunay). The most famous member of the group was painter, Jean-Baptiste Debret, the illustrious student of celebrated artist Jacques-Louis David. Both Montigny and Taunay had won the prestigious Prix de Rome.
  They arrived in Rio de Janeiro on 26 March 1816 aboard the Calpe and escorted by the Royal English Navy. A few brought their families and servants or sent for them later. This expatriate group formed a small colony that came to be known as the Missão Artística Francesa, or French Artistic Mission. The Mission strengthened the human, technical, and conceptual resources that structured the Escola Real de Ciências, Artes e Ofícios. The first institute of its kind in Brazil, the Real School was founded by royal decree on 12 August 1816. The educational program was outlined by Lebreton, according to a letter his sent to Dom João on 12 June of the same year. In it, Lebreton divides the cycle of artistic apprenticeship into three phases, diverging from the system established by the Royal French Academy of Painting and Sculpture:
  Those phases were: 
  General design and copying the work of masters.
  Landscapes and basic sculpting.
  Detailed painting and sculpting with the use of live models and study in the worships of master artists.
  Architecture students also had a three-tiered system divided by theory and practice.
  Theory: 
  The history of architecture
  Construction and Perspective
  Stone masonry
  Practice: 
  Design
  Copying and Studying Dimensions
  Composition
  Lebreton also regulated the process and criteria necessary for student evaluation, the schedule of classes (which included outside subjects like music), and paired alumnists with public works projects. He also expanded the school's official art collection and balanced the budget. Lebreton was fundamental in the formation of another arts institution, the Escola de Desenho para Artes e Ofícios (School of Design for the Arts and Trades), whose curriculum was equally rigorous but provided free instruction.
caption: Lebreton
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