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Reed Benhamou, Regulating the Académie: Art, Rules and Power in ‘ancien régime’ France, SVEC 2009:08 ISBN 978-0-7294-0972-8, 298 pages, £60 / €93 / $127

The Académie royale de peinture et de sculpture, the second oldest academy in France, was abolished in 1793. To fully appreciate the drama of its dissolution, Benhamou examines the codes and practices of the Académie, exploring why certain rules were adopted and the power politics they engendered. This work culminates with nine annotated appendices of registered and proposed statutes, many of which are published for the first time. It’s published as part of the SVEC book series by the Voltaire Foundation. To place an order, please contact: email@voltaire.ox.ac.uk.

Reed Benhamou is a Professor Emerita at Indiana University. Her publications focus on the Académie royale de peinture, and educational programmes in art and architecture of the ancien régime. She is currently researching the effectiveness of the Ecole royale des élèves protégés.

A list of recent publications from the Voltaire Foundation is available here.