National School of Fine Arts, Paris. The École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts is a fine arts grand school of PSL Research University in Paris, France. The École des Beaux-Arts is made up of a complex of buildings located at 14 rue Bonaparte, between the quai Malaquais and the rue Bonaparte. This is in the heart of Saint-Germain-des-Prés, just across the Seine from the Louvre museum. The school was founded in 1648 by Charles Le Brun as the famed French academy Académie de peinture et de sculpture. In 1793, at the height of the French Revolution, the institutes were suppressed. However, in 1816, following the Bourbon Restoration, it was revived under a changed name after merging with the Académie d'architecture. Held under the King's tutelage until 1863, an imperial decree on November 13, 1863 named the school's director, who serves for a five-year term. Long supervised by the Ministry of Public Instruction, the École des Beaux-Arts is now a public establishment. The École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris is the original of a series of Écoles des Beaux-Arts in French regional centers. Since its founding in 1648, the Académie royale de peinture et de sculpture has had a school, France's elite institution of instruction in the arts. Its program was structured around a series of anonymous competitions that culminated in the grand prix de l'Académie Royale, more familiar as the Grand Prix de Rome, for its winner was awarded a bourse and a place at the French Academy in Rome. During his stay in Rome, a pensionnaire was expected to send regular envois of his developing work back to Paris. Contestants for the Prix were assigned a theme from the literature of Classical Antiquity; their individual identities were kept secret to avoid any scandal of favoritism. With his final admission into the Académie, the new member had to present his fellow academicians a morceau de réception, a painting or sculpture that demonstrated his learning, intelligence, and proficiency in his art. Jacques-Louis David's Andromache Mourning Hector was his reception offering in 1783; today it is in the collections of the Louvre Museum. In 1793, during the French Revolution, the Académie Royale and the grand prix de l'Académie Royale were abolished, but only a few years later, in 1797, the Prix de Rome was re-established. Each year throughout the nineteenth century, the winner of the Prix de Rome was granted five years of study at the Villa Medici, after which the painter or sculptor could fully expect to embark on a successful official career. The program resulted in the accumulation of some great collections at the Académie, one of the finest collections of French drawings, many of them sent as envoies from Rome, as well as the paintings and sculptures, usually the winners, of the competitions, or salons. Lesser competitions, known as the petits concours, took themes like history composition, expressions of the emotions, and full and half-figure painting. In its role as a teaching institution, the École assembled a large collection of Italian and French etchings and engravings, dating from the 16th through the 18th century. Such prints published the composition of paintings to a wide audience. The print collection was first made available to students outside the Académie in 1864. Today, studies include: painting, installation, graphic arts, photography, sculpture, digital media and video. ENSBA provides the highest level of training in contemporary art production. Throughout history, many world-renowned artists have either taught or studied at this institution. The faculty is made up of recognized international artists. Theoretical courses permitting diverse approaches to the history of the arts complement studio work, which is supported by technical training and access to technical bases. The ENSBA media center provides students with rich documentation on art, and organizes conferences, seminars, and debates throughout the year. The School buildings have architectural interest and house prestigious historical collections and an extensive fine arts library. The school publishes a dozen texts per year on different collections, and holds exhibitions ranging from the school's excellent collection of old-master drawings to the most up to date contemporary works, in the Quai Malaquais space and the Chapel throughout the year. The school owns circa 450,000 items divided between artworks and historical books, making it one of the largest public art collections in France. The collection encompasses many types of artistic productions, from painting and sculpture to etching, furniture or decorated books and from all the periods of art history.