Le devenir artistique et professionnel des pensionnaires de l'Académie de France à Rome après 1968

Abstract

The artistic and professional development of the pensionnaires of the French Academy in Rome after 1968. The primary mission of the French Academy in Rome today is "to promote artistic and literary creation in all fields and exchanges with Italy". Following the abolition of the Grand Prix de Rome in 1968, was the institution able to endow the title of "new pensionnaire" with enough weight on the labor and contemporary art markets, and thus succeed in fashioning a new legitimacy ? Annie Verger and Louis Pinto, researchers at the European Sociology Centre, set out to examine this issue. They conducted their investigation by means of questionnaires and interviews with former pensionnaires. Chosen on the basis of their application, the fellows were already set on a professional and artistic path. During their stay in Rome, they acquired a different kind of cultural capital, made up of relationships, contacts and exchanges. On this level, the institution accomplished its mission. However, although the pensionnaires felt that they had been given an advantage at a pivotal moment in their lives, the label had uneven effects : for some, it furthered their career while for others, most notably visual artists, it remained ineffective on the international art market, subject to a different set of criteria.