Prix de rome - rome prize

Initially referencing an award given by the French Academy in Paris to art students showing great promise who had completed required work at the ??cole des Beaux-Arts or elsewhere. The prize entitled recipients to four years??? study at the Acad??mie de France ?? Rome, founded in 1666 by Jean Baptiste Colbert. The competition was open to all French painters, sculptors, architects, engravers, and musicians between the ages of 15 and 30. It was instituted by Louis XIV in 1666 for the purpose of enabling talented artists to complete their education by study of classical art in Rome. For 300 years, the Prix de Rome was the highest honour in the western world that an artist could earn. The competition was abolished in 1968 but the prize is still given in France to young artists deemed worthy by the academy. Some American artists have received an award called the Prix de Rome based on the tradition of the French prize. The American Prix de Rome is for study at the American Academy in Rome. Recipients include Paul Manship, Raymond Saunders, Ana Mendieta, Albert Krehbiel and Hermon Atkins MacNeil.Sources: http://www.bartleby.com/65/pr/PrixdeRo.htmlWikipedia, the free encyclopedia