Académie Julian

The Académie Julian is defined by its origins in the Passage des Panoramas, one of the oldest covered shopping arcades in Paris. Founded in eighteen sixty-eight by the painter Rodolphe Julian, this site functioned as a private art school that rose to prominence as the most significant alternative to the state-run École des Beaux-Arts. While the official institution restricted entry, the academy welcomed students from around the world and famously opened its doors to women at a time when formal artistic training for them was largely unavailable.