Resisting… urge… to give history… of the French Academy….
Ok, urge has passed. All you have to know if that the Academie des Beaux-Arts is a long running training-ground for artists, and that for approximately the 16th-early 19th centuries every student’s goal was to be the next Michelangelo (obviously somewhat simplifying here). And, it has a custom of receiving gifts of artwork from students, alumni, and professors, so it has a great collection of works to draw from for special exhibitions – which are, after my trip to Cognacq-Jay, refreshingly fake-free!
The current (free) special exhibition is “The Academy Stripped Bare,” about 15 drawings in what appears to be someone’s office of nude male models by Academicians from the 16th and 17th centuries. They were good – I seem to have a weak spot for Michelangelo-esk drawings – but the real reason that you should check out any future special exhibition is the balls-out decorative gilded mishmash which coats the interior of the Academy. (I was going to describe it in more detail, but I’m so happy with that string of adjectives that I’ll leave it at that – just trust me and wander in).
