The Beaux-Arts de Paris are taking part in the European Heritage Days - Saturday 21 September from 10.30am to 5.30pm - come and discover our listed buildings and the treasures they contain.
The Beaux-Arts de Paris, heir to the Royal Academies of Painting and Sculpture, is a centre for artistic training and experimentation, an exhibition and conservation centre for historical and contemporary collections, and a publishing house. Set in an exceptional site covering more than two hectares in the heart of Paris, just a stone's throw from Saint-Germain-des-Prés, the institution boasts a condensed architectural heritage, from the seventeenth-century Augustin Chapel to the twentieth-century building designed by Auguste Perret.
In the convent's former cloister, Alexandre Lenoir planted a Chinese mulberry tree, which gave its name to this shady courtyard. Duban rebuilt the cloister in 1836, transforming it into an ancient atrium lined with arcades and adorned with a fountain. Under the Second Empire, he completed the decor with paintings in the Pompeian style and casts of the Parthenon friezes, which run halfway up three sides. A central fountain, marble statues of antiques under the arcades, Italian-inspired frescoes, mouldings of the Panathenaeus friezes, a joisted ceiling and a mosaic floor all contribute to the rich polychromy of this bucolic setting. The Cour du mûrier has benefited from a major renovation (2015-2018), which has restored it to its former glory.
The main courtyard, the Chapelle des Petits-Augustins, the main amphitheatre, the Palais des études and its glass courtyard will also be open to visitors.
Practical info
Free admission:
Free admission
Saturday 21 September 10:30 - 17:30
Guided tours (duration: 1 hour in French):
Free admission, tours start in front of the Angel column in Cour Bonaparte
Saturday 21 September 10:30 / 13:00 / 14:30 / 16:00
Introduction to the exhibition Souvenirs de Jeunesse (opening on 16 October) by Alice Thomine-Berrada
General Curator in charge of paintings, sculptures and objects, Head of the Collections Department. From David to Delacroix, Cézanne to Matisse, Ellsworth Kelly to Gina Pane and Hélène Delprat, Souvenirs de jeunesse is a journey back in time over two centuries, between 1780 and 1980, during which the Beaux-Arts de Paris welcomed tens of thousands of aspiring artists. Featuring more than 260 works and documents from the Beaux-Arts de Paris collections and some thirty private and institutional lenders, the exhibition reveals the singular careers of these students, famous or otherwise, who passed through the school.
Free admission, subject to availability
Saturday 21 September from 11.30am to 12.30pm (Amphi des Loges)
Pôles dessins with Malaquais students:
Students from the Paris-Malaquais School of Architecture, also located on the site, will be offering the public the chance to draw with them. Visitors of all ages will be able to stop for 5 minutes or ½ hour to practise and learn architectural drawing from the future architects.
Saturday 21 September from 11:30 to 17:30
